


A Heart to Give

by chuchutrain



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Appearances of other Kpop/Cpop idols, Fluff, Jongdae works at the flower shop, M/M, Minor Angst, Minseok needs a Flower, There's a spark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-09-02 15:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 34,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16789363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuchutrain/pseuds/chuchutrain
Summary: Jongdae works at a flower shop.Minseok wants to buy a flower for his apartment, but the young man with the dazzling smile picks his interest quicker than any flower in the shop could.A fluffy story about two people falling in love.





	1. Pansies and a Lavender rose

It was a sunny day in early spring and in the back of the small flower shop across the street, a pretty boy with messy black hair and dark eyes was close to a mental breakdown.

«No, no, no,» he mumbled seemingly stressed and stared helplessly at the mess of dirt, plants and flower petals on the ground around him. «I'm so dead, he will kill me, oh dear Lord this can't be happening!» In an attempt at fixing the disaster, he crouched down to pick up the few pansies that still somehow looked quite alright, but before he could do anything else he heard the front door opening. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes in frustration, it was all too late now.

«Good morning Jongdae!» a cheerful voice shouted from the front and footsteps approached the scene. «We're opening in 20 minutes and I need those dahlias we got yesterday from the—» The newcomer didn't manage to finish the sentence. He stopped abruptly in his tracks and just stared at the boy on the ground with an open mouth.

«I'm— I'm sorry Luhan, I only wanted— I just did— I—» The boy had almost tears in his eyes as he looked up to his friend and boss who still hadn't said anything.

Finally, after Luhan had inspected the dirty floor and his eyes wandered back to Jongdae who was still sitting on the ground, he asked half amused and half angry: «What happened here Jongdae?»

The dark haired boy lowered his gaze to the ground and picked nervously the poor pansies in his hands. «You know,» he began reluctantly, «I kinda wanted to carry the garden mould to the front, because Miss Lesterfield said she will come by and buy some today, but I might not have noticed the hose on the ground and I might have tripped over it and somehow I might kind of, you know, threw the mould at the pots with the pansies on the floor by accident...»

Luhan didn't know whether he should laugh at the boy's clumsiness or scold him. «Oh Jongdae,» he sighed and reached out for the boy to help him stand up. «Seems like we won't be able to open the shop in time. But well, there probably won't be any customers in the first hour, so let's fix this mess, shall we?»

Half an hour of cleaning later the floor was as clean as it could be and they still managed to open the shop somehow on time. Luhan disappeared into his office and Jongdae stayed at the front, organizing their inventory, receiving orders and helping customers to buy the right flowers. He loved his job, he enjoyed advising the people who came by to buy flowers, he told them with passion about the different flowers and their meaning. The dark haired boy adored every single flower he took care of. From time to time he would get mocked for his love for flowers, but frankly, he didn't really care. Why should he stop doing something he loved, just because others told him it was "too girly"?

Jongdae had just finished putting away a new set of pots they had received this afternoon and was now leaning against the counter, glancing at the clock. It read 16:38, meaning they would close the shop in twenty minutes and he could go home. As much as he loved the flower shop, it wasn't easy working there and he had this really good K-Drama waiting at home. He contemplated if he should already start to clean up so he could leave right after closing the shop, when the light bell rang, announcing yet another customer.

«Hi! Welcome to our lovely flower shop!» he greeted the young boy who just entered and looked around rather lost. «Can I help you? Are you looking for something specific?»

The boy had blond hair and some cute freckles Jongdae noticed. He scratched the back of his neck and said in a surprisingly deep voice: «Umm... I want to buy flowers for a friend's birthday, but I'm not sure which ones. Like, I want to say Happy Birthday to him, but also thank you for being an awesome friend?» He stared at Jongdae with big eyes, waiting for an answer.

Showing his brightest smile Jongdae thought for a moment. «I think something simple would fit, right?» he then answered. The boy nodded and Jongdae continued: «How about marigold for enjoying happy times together, petunia, because it's a surprise, and then, uhm, let me think for a second...» He turned around to one of the shelves and looked at it. «Ah, I know! Violets!» He turned around to smile at the boy. «What do you say?»

The boy smiled back with a smile just as bright. «I trust you to decide on this, Mister!» he declared and showed a super cute eye smile.

Jongdae couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing, the boy was just too cute. «You don't have to call me Mister, just call me Jongdae.» The boy grinned happily and answered: «Jongdae it is then! My name is Felix, nice to meet you.»

Still chuckling Jongdae took the hand the younger boy offered him to shake and then asked: «So, Felix, when do you need the flowers for your friend?»

«Well, that's the thing: I kinda need it tomorrow?» Felix admitted awkwardly and wanted to add something to it, but got cut off by Jongdae's hand waving in front of his face.

«Absolutely no problem! You just wait here, okay?» And with that he rushed off to the back, leaving a slightly confused Felix behind. A couple of minutes later he came back, carrying a small bouquet of the flowers he proposed to the boy before, neatly tied together with a sky blue ribbon. With a proud face, he handed the bouquet to Felix who just stared at him in astonishment. «How... how did you manage to put that together this fast?»

Jongdae simply laughed and winked at Felix' impressed face. «I can work magic when it comes to creating flower bouquets.» He then walked back to the counter to tell the boy the price for his present. After he paid, Felix bid his goodbyes and promised to come by again sometime. Jongdae really liked the younger boy, he was full of energy and his deep voice was really mesmerizing. Humming happily the black haired boy started to clean up since it really was time to close the shop now. But just then a new customer entered the shop, announced by the sound of the bell. Slightly annoyed that he wouldn't be able to leave on time he turned around to greet the newcomer.

«Hi! Welcome to our lovely flower shop. How can I help you?» he asked with a smile on his face. He had to admit that the man who just entered the store was rather handsome, with black dyed hair and round glasses that made his eyes look bigger than they actually were. He had a charismatic aura around him and Jongdae was immediately drawn to this person.

«Hi! I saw this shop and spontaneously decided to pay you a visit. But I see you're closing, I guess I'll come back tomorrow then, sorry for bothering you.» He attempted to turn around and leave again.

Jongdae didn't know why, but he didn't want the stranger to leave. «No, wait,» he said, making the other halt in his motions. «I can keep the shop open a few more minutes for you, that's no problem!»

The stranger smiled. «It's okay, I'll just come by tomorrow, I can see that you were about to leave. The shop is open tomorrow, isn't it?»

«Yes, it is,» Jongdae answered, somehow feeling disappointed that he couldn't get the other to stay.

«Perfect! I'll see you tomorrow then pretty boy!» The stranger winked playfully at a baffled Jongdae and left without another remark. Jongdae's mind couldn't process what just happened. Did the handsome guy really just flirt with him?

He didn't know how long he had been standing there when he heard Luhan saying: «How long do you intend on standing here with your mouth open like a stressed out koi fish? Because I'd really like to close the shop now.»

Still confused Jongdae turned to his boss who gave him a judging look. «You look like Barack Obama just came in and asked you for a cup of coffee.» Luhan stepped closer to the black haired boy and asked with a smirk: «How hot was she?»

«Wait, what, who was hot?» Jongdae got more and more confused with every second passing and it was extremely entertaining for Luhan to watch the clueless boy.

«The hot girl who got you so flustered silly,» he laughed and pinched the youngers cheek. At that Jongdae felt a blush creeping on his face and hiding his face in embarrassment he mumbled: «It wasn't a girl...»

Luhan's eyes widened in surprise. «Is that true?!» he squealed and a large smile spread on his face. «Oh my, sweetie that's completely okay! But you have to tell me about that boy, I'm so excited. What did he look like? Did you get his number?»

Taken aback by the sudden outburst, Jongdae shyly smiled at the older. He knew that Luhan was very open about sexualities because he would always talk about this one gay friend of him and how he had been trying to find him a boyfriend for years now. «He was really handsome. And he called me a pretty boy» Just remembering this made him feel excited about the next day when he hopefully would meet the hot stranger again.

«What about his number? Did you get it? Oh please tell me you have at least got his name.» By the way the shop owner was acting, one would think the handsome stranger had flirted with him instead of Jongdae. Luhan's eyes beamed with anticipation and he was still smiling goofily.

Jongdae shook his head. «No, I don't know anything about him. Luhan, he was like ten seconds in our shop. But he said he'll come again tomorrow.» He instantly regretted telling Luhan this little detail when he saw the look on his face. It practically screamed trouble, and suddenly he was a bit scared for the handsome stranger. He had no idea what Luhan was thinking, but he was pretty sure that it involved him and the hottie, and he was definitely not comfortable anymore. «You know what Luhan?» he said in an attempt of changing his boss' mind about whatever he was planning to do the next day «You don't have to bother yourself with it, I don't know, maybe he's a total prick or a playboy, and he wasn't even that hot.»

Luhan just laughed and patted the younger's shoulder. «Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Don't worry, I won't do anything to ruin your moment tomorrow.» With that he walked to the door, only to turn around once again in the doorway. «Don't forget to lock the door when you leave, okay? See you tomorrow pretty boy!» He mockingly wiggled his eyebrows and quickly shut the door, just before the rag Jongdae found who knows where could hit his face.


	2. A sold Usambara Violet

The next day, Jongdae had a weird bubbly feeling in his stomach when he woke up. He was strangely happy and hummed cheerfully songs the whole way from his apartment to the flower shop. He had the feeling that something good would happen today, and he secretly hoped that it was because of the handsome stranger from the day before.

He had barely anything to do this morning, there were almost no customers and no new deliveries, so he spent his time mostly in the back. He had a few pots who belonged to him personally, where he grew some flowers. They weren't even special flowers, but he loved them anyway. Jongdae loved flowers with all of his heart, he loved the small flowers, the tiny forget-me-not, the cheeky dragon snaps, the bright sunflowers. He just loved them all and couldn't help himself when he started talking about his flowers, much to the annoyance of his friends. Though they were quick to forgive him because who could be mad at such a ray of sunshine.

It was three in the afternoon now, there was literally nothing he could do to pretend to be productive anymore, and the guy from yesterday still hadn't shown up. Jongdae convinced himself that it didn't mean anything, it wasn't like they had made a promise or something. The shop was open for two more hours, so the stranger had lots of time left to come by. Nevertheless, he felt slightly disappointed. To distract himself he decided to sit down behind the counter and play a game on his phone.

He had been playing his game for quite a while now, but somehow he just couldn't get the hang of it today. He kept loosing and let out a frustrated whine.

«Not your day today?» a voice suddenly asked and Jongdae snapped his head back in surprise resulting in hitting it on the counter with a loud bang.

«Oof,» he groaned and tried to somehow scramble from behind the counter without looking like an overrun toddler.

«Whoa, are you okay?» the person asked with open concern and reached for Jongdae to help him up. «So... you're playing games at work? And here I was, thinking you were a total goody-two-shoes,» the person chuckled and Jongdae finally looked up to see who entered. He gulped and felt the heat rising in his cheeks. It was the handsome guy from the day before.

«No, I'm...it's not...,» he stuttered and felt like a complete idiot. This was so embarrassing. To save the last tiny bit of his dignity he cleared his throat and tried again. «I just took a small break, since no one was there, you know.»

The stranger laughed, it was a pleasant laugh that brought that bubbly feeling from this morning back. «Well, now someone's here so your break is probably over.» With that, he let Jongdae's hand go that he had been holding the whole time.

«Right...» Jongdae slapped himself mentally for acting like a teenage girl in front of her crush. He put on a smile and straightened his back. «Hi, welcome to our lovely flower shop! How can I help you?»

The stranger just stared at him for a good three seconds with an unreadable expression, then he flicked his tongue and said in a completely serious voice: «You have a damn beautiful smile flower boy.»

Jongdae's mind stopped functioning once again. He blinked once, then twice. Still somehow smiling he squeaked: «Jongdae»

The stranger tilted his head and frowned in confusion. «What?»

«My name is Jongdae,» the boy somehow got out and didn't sound half as shaken as he actually felt. How did this stranger, whom he didn't even know the name of, manage to turn his knees into pudding and make his heart beat so fast and loud in his chest he was afraid it would be heard? And all of that with just a look from these beautiful dark eyes that seemed to be able to look right into his soul. Was that even allowed? He was pretty sure that it shouldn't be allowed and made a mental note to check later how to establish a new law.

The other smiled, obviously amused. «I'm Minseok, nice to meet you flower boy.» A cheeky grin appeared on his face and he raised his eyebrows. «So, have you any flowers for me?»

«That depends on what you're looking for, but if I don't have it, I can always order it for you,» Jongdae answered, desperately trying not to lose his composure. He hoped that Minseok wouldn't notice his slightly trembling knees.

Minseok casually scratched the back of his head and answered: «Well, I'm looking for a plant to put in front of my window. Like, something that is easy to take care of? It just has to look pretty.»

Slowly nodding Jongdae turns around while he asks for the other to briefly wait and heads to the back of the flower shop to where they have some more plants stored. He has something in mind that just fits the description he was given. He returns with three pots in his arms and presents them before Minseok on the counter. «I thought a cactus might be what you're looking for,» he started and pointed towards two of the pots. «There are different types of cacti, but most of them are very easy to take care of, all they need is some soil that you have to change from time to time, preferably every six months, but your cactus won't die if you won't do it for once. Oh, and they need very little water of course. Most cacti die because of too much water and not because they were given too little. They only need fresh water once every four or five weeks, a bit more often in the winter months, about two to three weeks. The only point speaking against them would be that they rarely bloom, but they look pretty nevertheless.» The boy looked up to see if his customer could follow his words and was met once again with the gaze of these dark eyes that seemed to observe every move of his and made his knees weak once again. Jongdae swallowed and looked back down at his flowers. «Umm... yeah, if you want something that blooms I recommend this usambara violet. They are uncomplicated and wonderful to look at when blooming, though a bit more expensive. And... uh... yeah.»

He forgot what he wanted to say when Minseok reached for the pot with the violet. He lifted it to get a better look at the flower and even tried smelling on it.

«It doesn't really smell,» Jongdae mumbled and nervously shifted from one foot to the other. Did Minseok like the plants he proposed? Or were they something completely different he imagined?

The handsome blackhead put the pot back down and smirked at Jongdae. «You know, you're absolutely adorable when you talk about flowers.» He proceeded to stare intensely at the now slightly blushing boy who was obviously at a loss for words.

«I... uh... uhm... thanks?» Jongdae managed to stutter out. He was extremely overstrained with the situation and felt as insecure as ever before. «So, do you, er, do you like... I mean, what do you think about the— the plants?» He felt so stupid at the moment and just wished the earth would open up and swallow him.

Minseok let out a light chuckle and leaned over the counter bringing his face close to Jongdae's. «I like the violet. I think I'll buy it.» He was now only centimetres away from Jongdae's face, still staring at him intensely. He spoke in a casual voice as if he did this every day to poor, unsuspecting boys selling flowers.

«That— that would be 25 dollars then,» Jongdae managed to say breathlessly. His heart was beating way too fast by now and he was certain that the other had to be able to hear it. «Or do you want anything else to that?»

The other retracted his face and took his wallet out of his pocket. «Nope, that's all» He paid the amount Jongdae had told him and took the plant from the counter. «I'll take it like this. Do I need anything to it?»

Jongdae shook his head. «No, uh, no you don't need anything. Just remember to give it enough water. Oh, and if you have any questions, you're always welcome to come by and ask.»

«Alright then,» Minseok laughed, thanking Jongdae for his kind help and walked back to the door. «Goodbye flower boy! See ya!» And with a flirty wink, he left the shop.

Jongdae was seriously confused. And a bit disappointed if he was completely honest. But why?, he asked himself. After all, he was just a boy who sold flowers, it's not like he and Minseok were somewhat close. He probably won't see the boy ever again. But still, his heart clenched at that thought. He let out a shaky breath brought a hand to his cheeks, which were still hot. It's probably for the better if I don't see him again, he thought with a frown. The way Minseok affected him was almost scary and definitely not healthy.

«So, it changed from pretty boy to flower boy?»

Jongdae jumped at the sound of a voice directly next to his ear and turned his head so fast he swore he heard something crack. «Please, please, never ever do that again Luhan,» he groaned at his boss. «I almost had a heart attack!»

Luhan just laughed at the pouting boy. «You should have seen yourself! I don't think I've ever heard you stumble over your own words like that. And that cute blush, you're whipped for good!» He punched Jongdae's shoulder lightly and continued giggling: «But seriously though, that boy is a masterpiece! I mean, have you seen these guns he had? No, you haven't, you were too busy drooling over his face.»

»Luhan, stop!» Jongdae was blushing again. «Yes, he was good-looking, but I don't even know if he likes men. Plus, I don't really think I'd have a chance with someone like him and—»

Silenced by Luhan's hand covering his mouth he was cut off midsentence. «Duh, I don't need to be gay to see that this man isn't just good-looking, but absolutely stunning. And what do you mean, not gay? He? I can smell his gay from the other end of the town. Believe me when I say that this hot piece of meat gets male ass.»

Jongdae just stared at Luhan sceptically with a raised eyebrow. But his friend wasn't finished.

«And listen, boy, if he doesn't like you at least the slightest bit I'll eat a broom right here. And then I'll kick his ass.»

Jongdae couldn't help but laugh at that remark. «Please don't do that,» he finally answers, well knowing that Luhan would be perfectly capable of kicking Minseok's ass if he wanted to.

«Don't worry too much, okay?» Luhan patted the younger's head and smiled reassuringly. «He looked like a university student, I'll ask Minho if he knows any Minseok.» He then squished Jongdae's cheeks and cooed adoringly: «My baby is growing up, I'm weak.»

«Don't do that!» Jongdae whined and swatted Luhan's hands away from his face. «I'll tickle you!» he threatened.

«You wouldn't,» the older whispered, stepping back slowly, eyes widened.

«Oh, believe me, I would.» Jongdae raised his hands and smirked devilishly.

«You're evil, respect your elders!» Luhan cried out, but couldn't suppress the wide grin spreading on his face.

The rest of the day went by rather uneventful, Luhan decided to close the shop early and took Jongdae out for dinner to celebrate. The younger found that rather unnecessary, but who was he to say no to a free dinner?


	3. Dyed hair and Hearts in Love

About two weeks went by and Jongdae never saw Minseok again. Luhan's friend Minho didn't know any Jongdae, but that wasn't really surprising considering how many people went to the university Minho was studying at – given that Minseok even was a university student. He was disappointed, yes, but he hadn't expected anything else. He saw it coming and honestly didn't know what he hoped would happen. That Minseok appeared in the flower shop again? He had no reason to do so. And so he tried to forget the handsome, black-haired boy with the piercing glare that melted his heart and made his knees tremble.

It was a Saturday afternoon, Jongdae and two of his friends decided to dye their hair together. They had just finished and stepped out of the hair salon, all three very content with their new hair.

«Bye Heechul!» Baekhyun, one of his friends shouted to the hairdresser whom they grew quite close with since they would always come to him when they needed a haircut or wanted to dye their hair. Heechul was an excellent hairdresser and started to give them discounts because Chanyeol, the third one in their party, would offer him self-made pastries. He made them as a hobby to distract himself from University.

Chanyeol shook his head while he watched their friend jumping around like a little kid. «I still can't believe he would go for such a colourful shade of red,» he said in disbelief. «His head looks like it's on fire!» he joked and ran his fingers through his own, now deep black hair.

Both he and Jongdae went for rather natural colours, Chanyeol decided to try black and Jongdae had now light brown hair. It wasn't really surprising though that Baekhyun was a bit bolder than his friends. He had dyed his hair in various other colours before, ranging from different shades of brown to light purple and even silver. And since he had a very bubbly personality and much self-confidence he had no problem pulling off all these colours. It actually suited him very well.

The three friends were heading to a restaurant famous for their Italian food. They wanted to spend time with each other and catch up on their lives. They hadn't been able to do that for too long since they were always busy and found it time to change that. All of them were chatting rather loudly with each other, eager to tell about what was going on. Chanyeol had countless stories about this one friend of his who would do the stupidest shit during lectures – he was studying music at the same university as Luhan's friend Minho – and Baekhyun wouldn't shut up about this person he met at work.

«When will you ask her out?» Jongdae asked Baekhyun curiously since his friend made it pretty clear that he genuinely liked this person.

Baekhyun stared at him dumbfounded until he burst out into loud laughter. «Oh, it's not a she,» he answered when he calmed down again. «His name is Kyungsoo and I honestly don't know if I ever ask him out.»

«I didn't know you were gay,» Chanyeol remarked slightly surprised and somewhat offended that his friend never told them.

«Pfft, I'm not gay dumbo,» Baekhyun said, hitting Chanyeol's arm lightly. «I'm pansexual, and I just never really thought it was necessary to tell you? I know that you're not homophobic and that you have no problem with that stuff. So I guess I kinda forgot to tell you?» Baekhyun just shrugged it off.

«You kinda forgot,» Chanyeol scoffed but couldn't hide the small grin on his face seeing his friend so happy. «But hey, you should ask him out! You obviously don't like him just a bit,» he continued and ruffled the smaller's hair.

«Stop that you idiot, my hair will look like shit!» Baekhyun cried and tried to swat the taller's hands away.

Jongdae could only laugh at his friends and saved Baekhyun by putting an arm around him and pulling him closer to himself. «Your hair will always look like ketchup with that colour Baek, no matter what you do,» he teased him and laughed even more when Baekhyun let out a loud gasp and looked at him in utter betrayal.

«But seriously though, ask this Kyungsoo person out! I doubt he'd reject you, out of all people,» he then continued and smiled reassuringly at his friend.

Baekhyun just adverted his gaze to the ground and murmured almost inaudibly: «He kinda scares me sometimes.»

Both of his friends were surprised to hear that. Baekhyun wasn't someone who got scared off by others easily.

«How so?» Chanyeol asked the redhead.

Baekhyun just sighed deeply. «I just feel very insecure around him, you know?» he then responded in an almost shy tone. «He can be really cold and sometimes I think he hates me. I don't even know why! It's stupid, really.»

Jongdae felt bad for his friend, his situation reminded him a bit of what he felt when he met Minseok. He quickly tried to get the thought of the handsome guy out of his head, he really shouldn't think about him anymore. «Don't worry, I can't imagine that he doesn't like you, I mean, you're such an open and friendly person, it's hard to not like you,» he tried to convince Baekhyun. «Hey, you're Byun Baekhyun! You're not scared of anything! And if it doesn't work out me and Chanyeol can always kick his ass. Or I could ask Luhan to do so.»

Baekhyun chuckled at the thought of that. «Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks!» He smiled at his friends. He missed these talks with them, they used to tell each other everything that was going on in their lives.

Suddenly, Chanyeol stops and hits his forehead with his palm. «Guys, we're so stupid!» he shouted aloud. «We actually missed the turn to the restaurant we wanted to go like twenty minutes ago.»

They stared at each other with blank faces and then burst out laughing all at once.

«Let's just go to that restaurant on the other side of the street,» Jongdae said, gesturing to said restaurant. «I don't wanna walk back.»

The other two agreed and soon they were sitting in the cosy restaurant. It wasn't that big nor extravagant but gave off a warm atmosphere and they felt very comfortable. They carried on their talks until a waiter interrupted them.

«Hi and welcome! Here are our menus, can I bring you something to drink while you choose?»

Jongdae immediately recognised the voice he had tried to get out of his head for the past two weeks. Baekhyun asked for a litre of still water for the three of them and the waiter went back to the kitchen. Just then he managed to turn his head and look at the person. It was Minseok. Without any doubt.

«Dude, you okay?» Chanyeol asked, noticing how Jongdae still stared at the spot where their waiter disappeared.

Jongdae returned to look at the menu and mumbled a quiet «Yeah, I'm okay». He lifted his head again since his friends didn't say anything anymore and caught them staring at him with raised eyebrows. «What is it? Do I have anything in my hair?»

«Spill the tea,» Baekhyun demanded, ignoring the question. «And don't even try to hide it, you blushed like a little girl when that guy gave us the menus.»

«I totally didn't!» Jongdae shot back. «But yeah, I know him.»

«And?» Both of his friends wanted to know more about this.

«What and? There's nothing,» Jongdae mumbled and felt his cheeks become hot.

«Yeah sure, and I don't want Kyungsoo to push me up the bathroom wall,» Baekhyun scoffed. «What? I told you that I like him, don't give me that surprised look.» He kicked Chanyeol's leg.

«Ow!» the taller whined. «The heck was that for?»

Baekhyun flat out ignored him and pursed his lips while he looked at Jongdae. «Now tell us, how do you know this guy?»

Jongdae sighed in defeat and told them the whole story, how he met Minseok and that he probably had a tiny crush on him.

«So yeah, that's it. There's nothing more to it,» he closed and took up his menu to choose a dish. Surprisingly, his friends didn't say anything to it, and a moment later he also got the reason.

«Here's your water,» the soft voice of their waiter said and Minseok placed the bottle down on the table. Jongdae hid his face in the menu since it seemed as if the other hadn't recognised him yet. «Did you already choose what to eat?» Minseok asked them and took out a pencil to write down their orders.

«Uhm, no, I think we need some more time,» Baekhyun replied and flashed a boxy smile at Minseok, who nodded and disappeared once again. As soon as he was out of sight Baekhyun whistled through his teeth and looked with shining eyes at Jongdae. «I totally get why you're head over heels for him, damn that man has a fine ass.»

Chanyeol just nodded in agreement and smirked. «Go get him!»

«He probably doesn't even remember me,» Jongdae whined and hid his head even deeper in the menu. «I think I'll take a Spaghetti Bolognese, what about you guys?»

«Don't try to distract from the main topic,» Baekhyun frowned and took the menu out of Jongdae's hand, ignoring the whiny protests from his friend. «Who would forget that dinosaur-face of yours? And now focus, he's coming back!»

Panicking, Jongdae tried to grab a menu to hide behind it, but Chanyeol had put them together to give them back already and just smiled innocently. «Guys, what should I do?!» he whispered helplessly to his friends who completely ignored the poor boy.

«So, have you decided yet?» Minseok asked, standing right behind Jongdae.

«Yep, we have,» Baekhyun answered, smiling again. «For me the Lasagne, please.»

«For me too,» Chanyeol added.

Jongdae panicked. His friends just left him on his own like that and he had no idea what he should do. Should he just pretend to not remember the other? Wasn't it already too late for that?

«And what can I get for you Flower Boy?» Minseok interrupted his spinning thoughts. Oh shit he remembers, was all Jongdae could think and he immediately felt the heat rise in his cheeks, cursing mentally for being so stupid and just not saying anything.

«Spaghetti Bolognese,» he mumbled and refused to look up.

«I'm sorry, I didn't get that,» Minseok answered and the next moment Jongdae felt hot breath against his ear. «You have to speak a bit louder Flower Boy.»

Jongdae could have sworn his heart skipped a beat at that. He was now furiously blushing and didn't manage to bring anything else than a stutter of some incoherent words out.

«He'd like a Spaghetti Bolognese,» Chanyeol helped out his struggling friend, but he couldn't hold back the wide grin spreading from one ear to the other.

Minseok nodded and noted everything they had said, but didn't retract his face from Jongdae's ear. «Is that all?» he asked with an audible smirk.

Baekhyun, who struggled not to burst out laughing, nodded and finally Minseok retracted his head and disappeared into the kitchen with the remark that their food will be prepared immediately. Now Baekhyun didn't hold himself back anymore and almost fell off his chair from laughing if it weren't for Chanyeol who gripped his arm. He was grinning like an idiot while he was watching Jongdae who was seriously contemplating to just walk out of the restaurant and never come back.

«You— you should have seen yourself! Oh my lord, your face!» Baekhyun let out in between his laughter, he had tears in his eyes and wiped them with the back of his hand. «If you don't have his number by the end of this evening,» he declared, «I'm personally going to walk into the kitchen and ask him.»

«I've never seen our little Jongdae so shy,» Chanyeol chuckled. «Now that I think about it, I've never ever seen you at loss of words. This boy turned your head around, that's for sure.»

Jongdae just groaned and buried his head in his hands. «Please just shut up, this is embarrassing enough,» he begged, he felt so humiliated. He half-heartedly hoped that Minseok never came back and he woke up in his bed. But on the other hand, he kind of wanted to see him again. He just wished he wouldn't act like so stupid every time they interacted.

«Don't worry Chenchen,» Chanyeol said when he calmed down a bit again. «We'll make sure to help you out. You have our full support as friends.»

«You're not alone in this,» Baekhyun agreed. «We'll help you get laid.»

Jongdae snorted and lifted his head. «If that's so, then I can give up already,» he said sarcastically, but with a tiny smile lifting the corners of his lips. He then sighed. «But I honestly don't know how I don't fuck this up,» he grumbled frustrated. «I mean, you saw how I act around him.»

«We sure did. It was hilarious,» Baekhyun teased him which earned him a kick and a glare from Jongdae.

«We'll figure something out, don't you worry too much,» Chanyeol said with a grin that made Jongdae only worry more.


	4. Sweet Dessert

About twenty minutes later Minseok came back with their dishes, placing them down in front of them. «Here you go,» he announced and placed his hand on Jongdae's shoulder. The brunet immediately tensed up and felt a shiver run down his spine when the black-haired waiter gave him a gentle squeeze. «Enjoy your meal.» With that, he turned around and walked back in the direction of the kitchen, only to stop shortly before the door and leaning against the wall next to it.

«What is he doing?» Jongdae asked anxiously since he was sitting with the back to the kitchen's door and couldn't see what was going on.

«He's watching you,» Baekhyun answered while digging into his Lasagne.

Jongdae needed all his willpower to not turn his head. «He's doing what?» he whispered almost hysterically and gripped his fork tighter.

«Just as Baek said,» Chanyeol repeated, «he's watching you.» He had also started to eat and motioned to his friend to do the same. «Just ignore him for now and eat your pasta, this is delicious!»

Trying to do so Jongdae started to eat. And he had to agree with his friend; the spaghettis were absolutely delicious. He decided that he would just try to forget that Minseok was there and enjoy his food.

Which was easier said than done. He felt Minseok's intense gaze on his back and grew more nervous with every passing minute. When he had eaten about half of his plate he put his fork down. «I don't think I can finish this,» he said with a slightly trembling voice.

«You okay?» Chanyeol asked him with a slightly worried expression. «You never leave food unfinished.»

Jongdae shook his head. «I don't think I can eat with him staring at me like that.» Just then he felt a harsh kick to his knee. «Ow!» he protested, glaring at the culprit.

«Dude, get your shit together!» Baekhyun scolded him. «Where's our sassy Chenchen who has a good comeback for every situation? Did you eat him instead of your spaghetti?» His red-haired friend pointed with his knife at him. «Honestly, we all know that you are not really like this, and as entertaining as it is to watch you blush like a schoolboy in front of his crush, you're still my friend and I won't let you humiliate yourself like that in front of anyone. Just, I don't know, imagine him in one of those ugly dresses your grandmother wears on Christmas.»

That made Jongdae laugh a bit. These dresses really defined a new level of ugliness. Not even Minseok would look good in them. Baekhyun had made a point though. He really wasn't acting like himself right now. So, even though he still had a slightly uneasy feeling, he picked up his fork again and finished his spaghetti, more or less enjoying them.

Just when he finally finished, Minseok appeared next to him and placed once again his hand on Jongdae's shoulder. «Have you guys finished?» he asked with an innocent smile, while Jongdae tried to collect his flying thoughts.

«Yes, it was very delicious,» he answered and was very proud that his voice didn't give away how nervous he was.

«Our regards to the cook,» Baekhyun added and handed his plate to their waiter.

«I will tell him,» Minseok replied. «May I offer you a dessert on the house?» he then added, asking the three of them but only looking at Jongdae.

«Sure,» the brunet answered looking the older straight in the eyes. «Who would say no to such an offer?» Minseok was staring straight back at him and he was losing himself once again in his beautiful dark eyes— Wait, focus! Ugly dress, ugly dress... The whole plan completely backfired and Jongdae snorted at the thought of Minseok in his grandmother's purple Christmas dress, trying to not burst into a fit of laughter.

Minseok seemed lost and quite confused about what was going on, while Baekhyun could only grin, well-knowing what his friend must have thought of. «Don't worry,» he tried to explain to Minseok. «It hasn't anything to do with you, he's just weird.»

«Yah!» Jongdae protested. «I'm not nearly as weird as you are, so don't come at me like that.»

«You didn't deny that you're weird though,» Minseok remarked, joining the conversation. «Don't worry, I love you anyway Flower Boy.» He gently ruffled Jongdae's hair and smiled down at him, before turning over and heading back to the kitchen to get their dessert. Poor Jongdae was slightly blushing again and just sighed while burying his head in his hands.

«I'll never get the hang on how to handle him, he's so unpredictable,» he whined. «Like, one moment I start getting confident, but then he does something like that and I just... am like this.»

Chanyeol just laughed at him and gave him two thumbs up. «I'm sure you can do this, Jongdae.»

Just then, Minseok returned with three servings of tiramisu. He proudly placed them down in front of the three. «Voilà! I hope it'll be to your tastes.» He then stood back but didn't leave, just watched them in excitement.

Baekhyun literally moaned after the first bite. «This is so good, oh my god, me likey! Me definitely likey.»

They finished the dessert in no time and all agreed that it was the most delicious tiramisu they've ever eaten. After they had finished, they paid and got ready to leave. Just when Baekhyun decided to really go into the kitchen and ask for Minseok's phone number, said man appeared again. «Thank you for eating here! I hope you enjoyed our service,» he smiled sweetly at them.

«We really enjoyed it,» Chanyeol answered. «We'll be coming back for sure.»

«I'm glad to hear that,» their waiter chuckled and then turned to face Jongdae. «Oh, and I almost forgot, would you like to meet up sometime? You're really fun to be around and I'd love to get to know you more.» He smiled smugly. «I'm technically not allowed to give away my phone number while working, but I think I could make an exception for you?» With that, he handed the dumbfounded Jongdae a note. «I have to go back now, have a nice evening!» He waved them goodbye and then the three friends stood outside of the restaurant again.

«Mission complete!» Baekhyun said contently and hugged Jongdae out of nowhere.

«Congrats, you not only got his number but a date as well!» Chanyeol laughed while Jongdae was still staring at the note, a large smile spreading on his face.

They bid their goodbye to each other and headed home since it was getting late and neither of them was in the mood to go to a bar or start a movie night.

———

The second Minseok closed the door behind him, he sunk down and let out a tiny squeal. «Oh my god, I actually did it!» A huge smile spread on his face and he wiggled happily from side to side.

«You okay?» Changmin, the cook, asked mildly concerned. 

«I'm totally fine,» Minseok answered. «More than fine, actually. Remember the cute boy I told you about? The one from the flower shop?»

«Of course I do,» Changmin sighed and turned fully to the waiter, putting down the plates he wanted to put in the dishwasher. «You wouldn't shut up about him. He was here, am I right?»

Minseok let out an awkward laugh. «Caught guilty. How did you know?»

At that Changmin could only laugh. «I don't know, maybe because you were awfully enthusiastic about that dessert you wanted to offer, mumbling non-stop 'will he like it? I'm sure he'll like it. What if not' and so on.»

«Was it that bad?» Minseok hadn't been aware that this boy called Jongdae affected his behaviour this much.

«Duh, yes, it was. Now on with your story. What happened?»

Minseok fidgeted around and smiled widely once again. «I gave him my number... and asked him out on a date.» 

«Good job kiddo,» Changmin said, giving him thumbs up and continued to put plates in the dishwasher.

«Yah, I'm not a kid old man!» Minseok pouted, slightly offended although he knew that the other was joking.

After finishing his shift for the evening he went home, buying some food and necessities on the way. Opening the door of his apartment he yelled: «I'm home!»

«Welcome back!» he heard someone yell from the living room and seconds later his best friend Yixing showed up with a bowl full of cookies in his hands. The two of them shared an apartment to save money, since they were both students, meaning that they didn't have a lot of that. 

«How was work?» Yixing asked, nibbling on a new cookie.

«That boy from the flower shop came by,» Minseok told him excitedly and walked to the kitchen to stow away the food he bought.

«Oh really?» Yixing asked, following his friend.

«Yeah, I gave him my number and kinda asked him out on a date.»

«Kinda?» Yixing took another cookie from his bowl.

«Well, I just asked him if we wanted to meet up sometime...» 

«Really? Wow,» Yixing said gasping and hit his hand over his mouth in an overdramatic manner. «And you casually call it a date.» He threw a cookie at Minseok and laughed at his friend's expression. «But seriously though, I hope it works out for you. You know, you deserve some happiness for once.»

«Thanks.» Minseok smiled at his friend. He could be hella weird at times and Minseok was pretty sure that he took some sort of drugs, but he had always been there for him, supporting him no matter what. 

The two then decided to open a bottle of wine and watch some TV shows, enjoying the evening. There was their usual argument about who ate the cookies that were only bought two days before but had now magically disappeared. It was something that happened at least twice a week and it always ended with both of them walking to the next store in the middle of the night to buy a new pack. 

This night Minseok fell asleep with a smile on his face, thinking about the boy from the flower shop with the dazzling smile.


	5. Texts and Friends

unknown: hi! this is jongdae, from   
the flower shop... you remember?

Minseok smiled at the text he received two days later. He had been a bit anxious since Jongdae didn't text him right away like how he predicted, but it seemed he worried for nothing.

Me: Hi! Of course I remember, who would  
forget such a dazzling smile?

He quickly saved the number and put his phone back on the table next to his book. The boy was currently at his university where he studied interaction design. He had a free period and since none of his friends were free at that time he decided to go to the library and sort out his notes. Some of them were barely readable and some he had – for some unknown reason – taken twice. So he made got a folder with register carts and started to put his notes and additional articles from books and the internet in there. He did this as preparation for when he would actually start studying, so he would find everything quickly and without having to look through a pile of notes. But before he could start to do so, his phone buzzed, indicating he got a new message. He hesitated to look at it, but his curiosity took over and he opened his phone.

Flower Boy: uh, actually a lot of   
people??! but thanks I guess?  
anyways, I wanted to ask if that   
offer to meet up still stands?

Me: Then they haven't seen you smile duh  
you're welcome

Me: Yeah why wouldn't it? When are you  
free?

He immediately received a reply from Jongdae, which made him laugh a little. He could imagine the boy excitedly typing on his phone while leaning at the counter in the flower shop, surrounded by flowers.

Flower Boy: well I can always take a   
day off I don't think my boss would   
mind tbh

Me: Then how about next Thursday?  
I'll treat you to lunch

Flower Boy: sure that's okay for me

Me: Nice

Me: I'll come to get you at the flower shop   
at 11:30 'kay?

Still smiling Minseok put his phone down and finally started organizing his notes. He sighed at the amount of paper in front of him. This would probably take longer than he expected. Cracking his knuckles he started, determined to finish at least one-third before the end of his free period.

«I wanna kill myself.» It was lunchtime and Minseok just sat down next to his friend Jinki who was half lying on the table, face down and arms stretched out on his sides.

«Why?» Minseok asks him, placing a plate in front of his friend. They had a habit of getting each other's food since they got to know each other. Jinki studied interaction design, just like Minseok. But he also took vocal lessons, hence why he wasn't around in the free period.

«Apparently my vocal teacher thinks I'm really talented and now he wants me to sing at that one event. I don't even remember what event it is, just something about businessmen and they have like a meeting or something. And I didn't really pay attention and just said yes,» Jinki answered with a muffled voice, face still on the table.

«And why is that so bad?» Minseok didn't quite understand why his friend was so upset. «There's probably going to be free food. And your voice just is really good, you won't fuck it up, don't worry.» He started eating while watching the other who was groaning in frustration.

«You don't understand!» He finally lifted his head to look at Minseok. «The whole event is on the same day as your birthday. Which means I won't be able to come to your party!»

Minseok just laughed. « Oh my god Jinki, I can just postpone the party until the following weekend you dumb-dumb. No need to go and kill yourself.»

«You would do that for me? Isn't everything already planned?» he asked with shimmering eyes. He could be such a drama queen at times but Minseok never minded that. It was just Jinki being Onew condition and he eventually got used to it.

«Hey it's not like I'll throw a fancy party in a special location or something like that, I don't have any money,» he pointed out. «It'll just be the few friends I have eating crêpes and cake, maybe we'll watch a movie. Like, it really won't be anything big.» He shoves the plate with lunch closer to his friend and scolded him with a raised eyebrow: «Now eat your lunch, it's probably already cold and I certainly won't get a new plate for you.»

Jinki just laughed and started eating, suddenly completely happy and content. Minseok could just shake his head at him, Jinki was someone really unique who made his life a whole lot more interesting.

When Minseok finished eating he took out his phone, surprised that there were three new messages from Jongdae. Curiously he opened them and instantly smiled at the cute messages.

Flower Boy: could you already come  
at 11? the shop closes during lunch  
but only if it isn't inconvenient for you

Flower Boy: you're probably eating  
right now, enjoy your meal ^^

Flower Boy: btw how's the violet  
doing? Is it still alive?

«Is your girlfriend texting? Or why are you all smiley all of a sudden?» Jinki peaked over his shoulder to get a look at his phone. Minseok quickly pulled his phone away and tried to hide the chat.

«I don't have a girlfriend, you know very well how gay I am,» he pouted and slapped his friend's shoulder. The other just grinned.

«I was just teasing you. And it could be that you're like, I don't know, bisexual or pansexual or something,» he answered and shrugged his shoulders. «But who was texting you? Is there something I should know?» Wiggling his eyebrows he leaned closer to his friend.

«Stop that, that's creepy,» Minseok replied and shoved Jinki's face away. «It's just someone I got to know recently and we decided to meet on Thursday.»

«Oooh, a date!» Jinki exclaimed excitedly. «But why didn't you tell me about him, I feel betrayed.»

«It's not a date,» Minseok denied. «We're just going out as friends.»

«Yeah, sure!» his friend scoffed and ruffled his hair. «The way you just smiled when you received his messages tells me that it is definitely a date.» He smirked teasingly and quickly dodged the hand that was aimed at his head.

«Oh shut up,» Minseok grumbled but couldn't hide the cute smile spreading on his face. «Yeah, it might be a date?. Are you happy now?»

«Nope! Tell me about him. Where did you meet him? What is he like? Is he handsome? He better be.»

«I can't with you anymore,» the black-haired boy mumbled under his breath. « Can I at least first answer his texts? I don't want to leave him on read,» he then sighed and opened his phone anew, not waiting for a response.

Me: Yeah, sure, I can come at 11. That's  
no problem

Me: Lol thanks, I did. You too :*

Me: The flower is alright, still alive

He heard Jinki scoff next to him. « You texted him that weird kissy smiley, come on, don't tell me that you two aren't a thing!» Still looking at their conversation he quietly laughed at his friend. «Honestly, you seem so awkward over text messages. You must really like that boy.»

«He's really cute,» Minseok replied in all sincerity. «He works at a flower shop.»

«Hey, if you like him this much invite him to your birthday party! I bet he would gladly come,» Jinki suggested while standing up to put their now empty plates away.

Minseok hadn't thought about that, but it was actually not a bad idea. Why not, he thought and followed Jinki.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Jongdae frowned at the messages he received. He had just opened them and he didn't quite know how to feel about them. Especially the one with the kiss smiley. Why did Minseok have to send that one? How was he supposed to answer to that? Was he even supposed to answer to that? He contemplated to just answer a simple 'nice' or 'Okay', but wouldn't that be too casual? Or even offensive? He sighed. He was overthinking again.

Me: okay, thanks.

Me: good to hear the plant is alright ^^

That would have to do it. He put his phone away and picked up his work again. Today was a rather busy day in the flower shop, so he cut his lunch break short and started working earlier. Humming a popular radio song he towed the mould they just received to the back of the shop.

«Bye Jongdae! Be careful on your way home!» he heard Luhan shout, followed by the sound of the front door being shut. Jongdae yawned and grabbed his bag, looking one more time over the shop to be sure that everything was at its right place. Content, he turned off the light and left the shop as well, not forgetting to lock the door.

He arrived at his apartment shortly after and fell immediately down on his couch. It had really been an exhausting day and he just wanted to go to sleep. He eventually got up again to eat a yoghurt and drink a glass of milk. He looked at his phone, went through some texts from his friends and decided that it wouldn't hurt to go to bed early for once.

He ended up watching K-Dramas until 1 am, asking himself what a life even was. When he was there, lying in his bed, surrounded by darkness, he remembered the meeting on Thursday. He was really looking forward to it. He would see Minseok again. He smiled lightly at the memory of their little text conversation. It would be really nice to get to know the handsome guy more.

Half an hour later Jongdae was still widely awake, rolling from one side to the other, unable to find sleep. He let out a frustrated whine and grabbed his phone once again. He thought about what to do and clicked on his conversation with Minseok. He briefly hesitated and then typed a message.

Me: hi. are you awake?


	6. Butterflies not only in the Air

A shrill beeping woke Minseok up from his precious sleep. He groaned and turned around to find the source of the noise. He saw his phone lighting up and knitted his eyebrows. Did he forget to turn it off once again? But since he was now awake he might as well check which stupid idiot texted him at 2 am. He opened the text message and had to briefly close his eyes because of the bright light coming from his phone screen. When he finally could see who texted him, he was a bit confused. Flower Boy? Why would he text him in the middle of the night? Was he drunk? He didn't seem like a party guy though.

Flower Boy: Hi. Are you awake?

Me: Now I am. Why are you not sleeping?

At that moment, Minseok didn't really care if he seemed rood, he was tired and treasured his sleep a lot. Before he could do anything else, his phone once again beeped really loud, indicating a new message. Cursing under his breath the sleepy boy turned off the notification sound and looked at the new message.

Flower Boy: Sorry to wake you up,   
really. I shouldn't have messaged   
you. I just couldn't sleep

Minseok sighed. The boy was too cute to be mad at, even when he just thought about his beautiful smile he already forgave him.

Me: It's okay, dw

Me: Why can't you sleep?

Flower Boy: Idk

Flower Boy: Just can't

Minseok frowned at that. Why did Jongdae sound so down?

Me: Hey, is everything okay? You sound   
kinda down...

Me: Also, did you try drinking something?  
Some water or warm milk with honey  
usually helps when I have that  
problem

Flower Boy: I'm okay, don't worry

Flower Boy: No, I didn't try that yet  
I guess I'll do that right away. Thanks  
for the tip. :p

Flower Boy: Good night then and   
sorry that I disturbed your sleep

Me: If you say so. Hope you'll be able to  
sleep now.

Me: Gn

Minseok smiled lightly at the conversation and then shut off his phone, going back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Jongdae cursed himself for texting the black-haired boy. He should have known that he would wake him up. He was a bit embarrassed about his sleepy self. But what had happened had happened, and he had to accept it. He could just hope that Minseok would forget about it and wouldn't be mad at him.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Jongdae was sweating. It was Thursday, the day the date with Minseok was. Wait, was it even a date? Anyways, he referred to it as a date, it had a nice ring to it. But the thing was, he was still working, serving a customer to be exact, but Minseok was already in the shop. Ten minutes too early. And he was staring at him. It made the poor boy so nervous and he had to gather all his willpower to not stutter and look back at him. He tried to smile naturally at the quirky young lady in front of him who just bought another three pots of tulips.

«You know, I just felt like the other three ones I bought last week seem so lonely. So the only solution was to buy more of them!» his customer explained herself in an excusing tone.

«Well, it's always a pleasure to see you again, so I really don't mind how many flowers you buy, Miss Lesterfield,» Jongdae answered smiling brightly.

Giving him a smile just as bright back, the young lady answered: «I'm glad to hear that! I'll be going now, so you can properly greet your boyfriend.» With a wink and a mouthed 'use protection, child!' she disappeared out of the door, not giving Jongdae any chance to clear up the misunderstanding.

Minseok just chuckled at the comment, slowly walking over to Jongdae. «Well hi then, boyfriend,» he greeted him jokingly, making Jongdae blush slightly.

«I'm so not going to survive this,» he just mumbled, turning around to pick up the wallet from his bag. He walked over to the door where Luhan's study bureau was behind, ignoring Minseok for the time being. «Luhan!» he shouted through the closed door. «I'm gone now! See you tomorrow!» He didn't wait for an answer and rushed back to the waiting Minseok. «So... where are we going?» he asks the other with an almost shy smile.

«You'll see once we get there,» the other answered excitedly, grabbing Jongdae's hand to drag him out of the shop, resulting in the brunet nearly stumbling over his own feet at the unexpected action. In front of the shop was a car parked and Minseok motions for Jongdae to get in while he himself walked to the driver's side.

«That's a nice car you have there,» Jongdae tried to start a conversation since there had been a rather awkward silence once they started driving. Minseok chuckled slightly and corrected Jongdae: «The car isn't mine. He belongs to my friend and roommate.»

«Oh, I see,» Jongdae replied quietly. He didn't know what to say anymore, and there was once again this awkward silence between them. Thinking of something to say or a question to ask he didn't even realise that they arrived at their destination. He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when Minseok opened the passenger seat's door and offered him a hand. Grabbing it hesitantly he let the older pull him out of the car. They had parked in a parking lot Jongdae didn't recognize.

«We have to walk about ten minutes from here because they've got no parking space there, I hope that is okay?» Minseok asked and let Jongdae's hand go.

Jongdae nodded and gave Minseok a smile. «Sure, that's no problem,» he said and followed the older to the exit of the parking lot. They were in a part of the town Jongdae had never been before, where lots of small shops and cafes were everywhere. It didn't quite look like they were in the same town anymore. «Umm, sorry to ask that, but where exactly are we? I've never been here before and am a bit lost,» Jongdae admitted.

An amused grin formed itself on Minseok's face. «We're still in town if that's what you're wondering. We're just a bit away from the centre,» he informed the clueless boy next to him. «But hey, we've arrived at our destination,» he exclaimed and stopped in front of a small restaurant that had lots of different flowers all around it. Surprised, Jongdae stepped closer and admired the beautiful flowers next to the door. He followed Minseok who had already entered but immediately stopped right on the doorstep. His mouth hung agape while his eyes were wide opened, taking in the stunning sight before him. The whole restaurant was decorated with flowers, there were butterflies flying around and the air was filled with the sweet smell of fresh flowers. There were golden, white and pink lilies on the tables, violets and crocuses on the counter. There were cacti that not bloomed yet and colourful orchids in front of the windows. From the ceiling hung pots with some more exotic flowers and the walls were covered in ivy. Colourful pots with pansies and dragon snaps were standing everywhere on the floor. The furniture was all in white with floral pattern on the tablecloths and small pastel cushions on the chairs. It was incredibly beautiful and almost magically.

«This is beautiful,» he whispered while he slowly stepped inside to the patiently waiting Minseok.

«I'm glad you like it,» he smiled and took the younger's hand to pull him to a table with white lilies in front of one of the windows.

«What do you mean 'like', I absolutely love it! This is amazing, how did I not know this place?» he turned to Minseok with shimmering eyes. The boy was practically beaming. The two of them sat down and while Jongdae still admired the interior of the restaurant Minseok ordered a bottle of water. «What do you want to eat?» he then asked the still awestruck boy.

«I don't really care. I bet everything tastes fantastic,» the other simply answered, not taking his eyes away from all the flowers around them.

Minseok chuckled slightly at this statement and had to agree, he knew that everything was very well made. And as much as he respected Changmin, the cook of the restaurant where he works, he had to say that the food here tasted slightly better. But maybe that was just the environment. All these colours and the smell of the flowers gave off an extremely lively atmosphere and you just had to smile.

«Hi, I'm Jinho, I'm your waiter today! What can I bring you?» A rather small young man with blond hair was standing in front of them, smiling friendly and ready to write down their orders.

«We'll have both the special burger,» Minseok answered and gave the waiter a smile back. «Hi Jinho, long time no see.»

«Minseok! It's nice to see you again! How are you?» the waiter finally recognized the black-haired boy. «Oh, and one big to share or two separate ones?»

«I'm doing fine, thanks for asking.» Minseok then looks at Jongdae. «Is one to share okay with you?»

«Sure,» the brunet answered, not fully concentrating on their conversation.

«One big to share it is then,» Jinho wrote down their order waved them goodbye. While they were waiting for their food, Minseok was observing Jongdae. He couldn't help but admire the dreamy smile on the face of the brunet. Jongdae was just too beautiful when he smiled like that, with shining eyes which rivalled the sun in brightness.

Soon their food arrived. Jinho set the giant burger down between them and then promptly sat down himself next to the others. «So, now tell me a bit more. We haven't seen each other in so long, what happened?»

«I was kinda busy with university and some personal stuff, you know,» Minseok answers with an apologetic smile. «But I'm doing a lot better, it's really going well for me right now.» With that he looked at Jongdae, who seemed a bit lost, not knowing whether he should say something or keep silent. «I even got a date with an adorable boy,» he teased and smiled innocently at the slightly blushing boy.

«Oh my god, you should have said that you're on a date, I wouldn't have interrupted you two!» Jinho apologised and wanted to stand up.

«No no, it's okay,» Minseok assured him. «That's Jongdae, he works at the flower shop near the Thai restaurant we went on Yixing's birthday,» he introduced the brunet.

«Nice to meet you, I'm Jinho. I and Minseok used to go to the same college, but then the little shit went to university and decided not to talk with us anymore,» the blond boy smirked.

«Yah! That's not true at all!» Minseok jokingly hit Jinho's arm. The other just laughed and got up from his seat.

«I'd better get back to work now,» he said. «Enjoy your meal!»

Minseok waved goodbye to his friend and turned back to Jongdae. «Sorry for that,» he apologized and started to eat his half of the burger. The whole burger was so big that it was impossible to eat it with hands. It was one of those burgers where you are forced to use a knife and a fork, but they were delicious. The special burger was a speciality of the house, decorated with flowers and the best burger Minseok had ever eaten.

«It's okay, I don't mind,» Jongdae smiles back at the older. «Your friend is really nice.»

They then ate their burger, chatting a bit about their lives while butterflies were dancing around them. Minseok told Jongdae about what he studied, that he liked flowers because of his grandmother who would take him out into the forest to teach him about all the plants. «Do you go to university as well?» he then curiously asked.

Jongdae didn't answer right away and nervously played with his fork. «No... I'm kind of taking a break to figure out what I want to do,» he then explained. «And so that I don't do just nothing I work at the flower shop.»

«Oh, that's cool though,» Minseok replied a bit surprised. «Sometimes I wish I had had more time to think about what I wanted to do in my life. It's always better not to rush things if you're unsure about what you want.»

They continued to talk about the most random topics. It was surprisingly easy to find things to talk about. They talked and talked until they got interrupted by someone appearing next to their table. 

«Minseok! Why did you not tell me you would come by today?» The young man in front of them had grey dyed hair and was smiling brightly. «First we hear nothing from you for months, and then you suddenly show up with a date without telling anyone anything!» He shook his head in disbelief and then turned around to greet Jongdae. «Hi, my name is Hwitaek, I'm the owner of this restaurant and a friend of this idiot here.»

Jongdae smiled back at the energetic male. «Hi, I'm Jongdae. I have to say, this place is absolutely amazing! I can't believe I didn't know about this restaurant until today,» he introduced himself. Hwitaek just laughed at the brunet and replied that he was glad that he liked it.

«Your meal is on the house,» he then added and immediately silenced Minseok who wanted to protest. «Shush, I don't want to hear anything about it! You're a friend and I expect you to come by more often, you can leave extra tips or something like that if you really insist on it. Plus, you're on a date and I have a soft spot for cute couples so shut up.»

Both Minseok and Jongdae stared somewhat awkward and slightly embarrassed at each other and didn't really know what to say. Hwitaek could only laugh at the two. 

They left the restaurant shortly after that, slowly walking back to the car. Once they arrived, Minseok turned around to Jongdae. «Do you have some more time or do you have to go back?»

«No, I took the whole afternoon off», Jongdae replied, unsure what Minseok wanted to say. He wanted to ask for the reason behind the question but hesitated to do so. But he didn't have to, because Minseok stepped closer to him and leaned against the car.

«Great. Do you want to come to mine? We could watch a movie or something, I don't know. Whatever you want,» he smirked and raised an eyebrow, waiting for Jongdae to respond.

«Oh... I... I guess that would... be okay?» the brunet managed to get out after he calmed down his racing heart a bit. He was nervous all over again. It was quite frustrating, the normally very confident and rather glibly boy could barely form a complete sentence when Minseok stared at him like he did at that moment.

«Well then, let's get going,» Minseok announces and opened the car door for Jongdae.


	7. The Universe for you

They didn't talk much on their way to Minseok's apartment, mainly because the black-haired male remembered Jongdae mention that he liked music and turned on the radio, switching to a music channel. When they arrived, the first thing Jongdae noticed when he walked to through the door was the small usambara violet in front of the window of the living room. He smiled, delighted that Minseok really took care of the flower.

Minseok followed his gaze and smiled as well when he realized what Jongdae was looking at. «It looks good, doesn't it?» The other just nodded and wanted to answer when he was interrupted by a voice from the kitchen.

«Minseok? You're back?» Just seconds later, the owner of that voice appeared with a mango in his right hand and looked slightly confused at Jongdae. «Wait, who are you?» he asked, but then a huge smile spread on his face. «Are you the Flower Boy? Omo, Minseok, you should have told me that you're bringing him home with you! Aigoo, wait right there, I'm preparing another smoothie.» And with that he disappeared once again in the kitchen, leaving a baffled Jongdae behind.

Minseok tried hard not to laugh. «I'm sorry for him, that was my best friend Yixing. His smoothies are really good though,» he explained to the younger. He then motioned for Jongdae to sit down on the couch. «Would you like some water? Or anything else?» he asked Jongdae who sat down and shook his head.

«Just water is fine, thanks,» the brunet replied and gave Minseok a small smile. He was still quite nervous, it had been a long time since he last visited someone's home. Usually, all his friends came to him, it just had always been like that. If they met up, it was at Jongdae's.

Minseok went to get the water, meeting Yixing who was happily cutting the mango into tiny pieces, humming some Chinese song. He looked up when he heard Minseok enter the kitchen and stopped what he was doing. «He really is cute. If you don't call dibs on him soon I might go on a date with him myself,» he jokingly said, immediately dropping himself down to avoid the water Minseok splashed at him.

«I thought you had a crush yourself,» Minseok snorted and laughed at his best friend rolling on the floor, pretending to be hit.

«Seems like he is a huge jerk,» Yixing answered nonchalantly and shrugged his shoulders. «He hit a girl when I was trying to ask him out because she interrupted us, so I did the only logical thing that is there to do. I beat his ass and dumped him in the river.»

«Yeah, sure, we don't even have a river around here. Wait, you confessed?» Minseok screeched and stared in utter disbelief at his friend. Yixing wasn't out of the closet yet, if you could say so, only Minseok knew about this because Yixing kissed him once. They were very drunk and it just somehow happened. They were cool about it though, they even made an inside joke about it.

«Yeah, I confessed. Gotta step over your own shadow sometimes, you know,» Yixing laughed and returned to murdering the mango.

«You're so weird, I swear,» Minseok snickered.

Yixing just threw him a kiss. «You still love me.»

«Can't deny that,» he grinned and walked out of the kitchen to bring Jongdae his water. He placed the glass on the table before him and then sat down next to the brunet.

«Thanks,» Jongdae mumbled and took a sip from the water. He looked around the room, anywhere to avoid Minseok's gaze since the older was once again staring at him intensely.

«Oh yeah,» Minseok suddenly said, remembering what he wanted to ask Jongdae all along. «I'm having a birthday party in two weeks, on Saturday. If you want, you can come too.»

Surprised, Jongdae turned his head to look at him. «Wait, birthday party? When is your birthday?»

«March 20, but the party is a week later.»

Jongdae slowly nodded. «I see. Yeah, sure, I'll come. Will it be here?»

Minseok nodded and gave him some more details, before asking: «So, do you want to watch a movie? I'm kind of in the mood.»

Hesitantly, Jongdae set down his drink. The weather outside was a bit too good to watch a movie, but he quickly changed his mind when he spotted a certain DVD. «You have Narnia? Oh my god, I love these movies!» he exclaimed and excitedly bounced up and down on the sofa.

They ended up watching Narnia while slurping Yixing's homemade smoothies on the couch. They sat close next to each other, with their thighs almost touching, but just almost. They both shed some tears when Aslan died, and just when the credits started rolling, Jongdae suddenly felt a heavy weigh on his shoulder. Minseok had laid his head on it, sighing quietly.

«I forgot how sad that movie is,» the black-haired male murmured. Jongdae just sat there stiffed up and not knowing what to do. They stayed like this for about a minute, then Minseok got up without any warning and stretched out his arms. «I had fun though! Thank you for going out with me today.» He flashed a smile at the younger who still sat on the sofa.

«Oh, no, I have to thank you!» Jongdae objected. «Thank you so much for taking me out to this beautiful restaurant. I enjoyed it a lot.» He slightly blushed at the last part. «I better get going though,» he then added. «I hope we can repeat this again sometime?» He shyly looked up at Minseok who chuckled at the boy in front of him.

«Of course. How about tomorrow, same time?» he replied. «Or is that too soon? We can wait a few days if you want,» he quickly added with an almost worried expression, he didn't want to rush anything between them.

Shaking his head and smiling, Jongdae answered: «No, tomorrow is fine.»

And so their date ended with Minseok driving Jongdae home with Yixing's car. They hugged each other as a goodbye and parted with a smile on their lips.

———

After that first date they met up quite often, sometimes they went out to eat lunch or dinner, sometimes they just spent time together at one of their apartments. They got to know each other a lot better and slowly but surely started feeling comfortable around one another. A week passed, and now Jongdae stood in front of Minseok's door, holding a birthday present in his hands, and trying to calm down his nerves. He didn't tell the older that he would come by today, he didn't even know whether he was home. He now regretted coming here and almost turned around and left. He took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

You got this, he will like the present, he thought and waited for the door to be opened. He waited and waited. And grew more and more anxious. Was Minseok not home? Oh please, let him be home!

He pressed the doorbell a second time, and then again a third time. Still nothing. It seemed as if Minseok really wasn't home.

He probably went out with his friend or something, Jongdae thought and slowly walked away, disappointment written all over his face.

«But seriously, why would I need a toilet golf set— Jongdae?»

Just when he was about to leave, he heard voices approaching him. He turned around with a bright smile and greeted the birthday boy. «Hi, Minseok! I wanted to surprise you with a present, but then you weren't home... I'm sorry, I should've asked if you were there.» He nervously scratched the back of his head. «But hey, Happy Birthday!»

Without any warning Minseok dashed forwards and threw his arms around Jongdae, engulfing him in a warm hug. «You... you didn't need to come and bring me a birthday present.» And then, after a short pause, he added: «Thank you. It means a lot.»

The younger just laughed and hugged Minseok back. «You're welcome.»

«Do you want to come in and have a drink and some cake?» Yixing interrupted the two and opened the door. They awkwardly let go of each other and Jongdae cleared his throat.

«Actually I kind of abandoned the shop... I'd better return before Luhan notices anything,» the brunet shyly explains and then turns to Minseok, giving him a white paper bag with a blue ribbon on top. «That's my present for you, I hope you like it.» He then left quickly after saying a brief 'goodbye', not giving Minseok any chance to open the gift with him still there.

«Goodbye Flower Boy,» Minseok chuckles and heads inside the apartment. «He's really something,» he laughs and places the paper bag down in the living room. «He just left like that,» he mumbled and proceeded to take his best friend's present, a toilet golf set, to the bathroom. It was a mini-golf set, with a small rug with fake grass and a hole on it. It was hilarious, though quite unnecessary. But hey, that's what a best friend was for, right?

Then he returned to the living room to open Jongdae's present in peace. He was actually very excited about this present, he didn't think that Jongdae would bring him a present. He slowly opened the bag and took a look at what was inside. A bit confused he took out the black cube that was in there. It was not very big, black, and seemed to have a lot of holes on the surface. He lifted it up to get a better look at the item, still not understanding what it was. When he turned the cube in his hands, he felt a small switch on the side of the cube. He turned it on and immediately the room was filled with the light of what seemed like a whole universe. Baffled, the black-haired boy just sat on the couch and stared at the lights. «Wow,» he whispered. It seemed as if Jongdae got him a lamp that created a whole night sky in a room. It was certainly beautiful and Minseok already loved it. He thought that it was a bit cheesy, literally giving him the universe, but if he was honest he didn't mind at all.

Along with the lamp, he received a letter, where Jongdae explained how the lamp works and where he wishes him once again a Happy Birthday. Minseok smiles widely while reading the letter. «I've really fallen for him, haven't I?» he sighs with a dreamy smile.


	8. A Makeover and a First Step

It's been five days and the two hadn't seen each other since Minseok's birthday as they both somehow couldn't find a time when they were both free. But today was the day of the party and Jongdae stood in the middle of a big pile of clothes, frustrated and without a clue on what to wear for the evening. He pulled his hair and sighed deeply, walking in circles through his room. He knew who could help him, but he also knew that this person would be super annoying.

After going through all of his clothes once again he decided, that he had no other choice. He grabbed his phone and dialled the number of his friend he believed to be the most fashionable and who he hoped would help him. After a few rings, he heard the unpleasant sound of a cut line. Jongdae stared at his phone utterly confused and in complete disbelief.

«Did he really just reject my call?» he muttered to himself. «I'm so going to kick his ass.»

Slightly annoyed he called again and this time he got through.

«Hi—»

«Don't you hi me, I'm mad at you, ketchup head,» Jongdae whined into the line. All he got as an answer was a cackled laugh.

«I'm really sorry Chenchen, but I swear, it was an accident!»

Jongdae just scoffed. «Yeah, sure. Whatever makes you sleep at night. It's certainly not me because I'll come by and pull off your sheets.»

«Don't you dare!» the other gasped. «But anyway, why did you call me? What do you need?»

«Errr... well, you see...» Jongdae started and nervously bit his lip. «I am kinda invited to a party but I don't know what to wear? So come over and help me.»

The line stayed silent after that, and Jongdae added a «Please?».

After five more seconds, the line went dead, leaving Jongdae even more confused than when his call got rejected. «What the heck was that Baek?»

He sighed and tried to think of what to do now. But not five minutes later his doorbell was ringing furiously, followed by the sound of his door being slammed open. Before the brunet could even process what was happening, a breathless but grinning Baekhyun stood in front of him.

«Your very personal party stylist Byun Baekhyun, at your service!» His friend saluted and proceeded to drag the now laughing boy back into the room.

«You're so weird, I swear,» Jongdae giggled and watched his friend going through the pile of clothes lying on the floor.

Baekhyun picked up a few clothes and just to drop them again, shaking his head and mumbling incoherent words to himself. Eventually, he turned around with a serious look. «Jongdae dear, we're gonna give you a real makeover. You'll look like a whole meal once I'm done with you. But not with these clothes, sorry.»

Just then, they heard the front door opening and someone walking in. «Perfect timing!» Baekhyun screeched and hugged the person who just entered. «Chenchen, this is my new friend Tao! He's a stylist and makeup artist and brought you some clothes,» he introduced the tall boy with cat-like features. He was certainly handsome and handed Baekhyun several bags.

«Hi!» he greeted Jongdae. «So, I heard you have a date? Don't worry, you're in the right hands.» Tao had a bright smile and Jongdae immediately liked him.

«Hi, I'm Jongdae, nice to meet you,» Jongdae grinned back at him. «And well, it's not a date, it's a party. Thanks for your help though. I'm kind of too nervous to decide on what to wear.»

Tao laughed while walking over to Baekhyun, helping him holding up different outfits and giving comments here and there. Jongdae was forced to try on one outfit after another, varying from colourfull hoodies combined with sky blue jeans to a simple black shirt and khaki pants – a combination where Tao almost killed Baekhyun when he had the magnificent idea to add a lemon poncho to it («Are you colourblind?!? Those pants with that colour? Please tell me you're kidding»). It seemed as if Tao had robbed a whole fashion store. Many, many outfits later the two could finally agree on one outfit.

«See, I told you, the simpler the better!» Tao exclaimed, throwing a shady look at Baekhyun who was sulking because he really wanted his best friend to wear skinny jeans. But Tao vehemently protested and chose a pair of nicely fitting pale blue jeans. They both agreed on the black turtleneck and Baekhyun even found a black leather jacket at the back of Jongdae's wardrobe. For the finishing touch, Tao put some black converse shoes in Jongdae's hands – he had no idea where he took them from.

Eyeing himself up and down in the mirror, the brunet had to admit that the two did a pretty good job – better than everything he could have thought of. He felt ready to go to this party. He turned back, grinning happily at his stylists. «Thanks guys, I look amazing.»

The two simply smirked and gave each other a high five. 

Just then Jongdae's phone started to ring. Without looking who the caller was he answered. «Hello!» he greeted cheerfully, not even trying to hide his happiness.

«Hi Flower Boy,» he heard chuckled on the other side of the line. «You seem in a very good mood, excited much?»

Jongdae almost choked on his saliva, for Minseok was the last person he expected calling him now. «Uhm, yeah, I guess?» he replies in an almost shy tone. He noticed Baekhyun and Tao moving closer from the corner of his eyes. 

«Good! Are you already ready? Because we noticed that we have no avocado to make guacamole and Yixing really wants that guacamole so we drove to the convenience store to buy that avocado, and yeah, basically we're in front of your apartment to pick you up?» 

«What?» Jongdae couldn't quite process what he just heard, but before he could say anything more, Baekhyun snatched his phone from his hands and replied for him.

«He's ready to bingo and coming down, start the engine.» Not giving Minseok a chance to reply he hung up straight after finishing his sentence and gave Jongdae his phone back, only to shove him forcefully out of the apartment. Everything happened way too fast and before Jongdae knew, he sat the back of Yixing's car.

«Hi!» he greeted the two in the front, still breathless from being shoved down the stairs by his so-called best friend.

«Hi Flower Boy,» Minseok smiled back. «You look good, nice outfit.»

«I- I had some help,» Jongdae admitted and nervously fidgeted in his seat.

«Ugh, I wish some of my friends had enough fashion sense to help me pick an outfit, but no...» Minseok jokingly responds and sends a meaningful look at Yixing. 

«Don't look at me, I was not the one who wore those ugly slippers to school,» the Chinese shot back.

«Those were dark times okay,» Minseok mumbled.

Soon they arrived at Minseok's and Yixing's apartment. Yixing disappeared into the kitchen to make his guacamole while Minseok led Jongdae to the couch and offered him a drink. 

The whole living room was decorated with golden and silver garlands and even some balloons. There were various drinks and snacks standing on the small table in front of the sofa, a larger table standing a bit further into the room. On that one was a huge cake and numerous bowls of more food. There were cut fruit, olives, tomatoes and even cheese. The lights were dimmed and in one corner Jongdae spotted the night sky lamp he got Minseok as a birthday present. He smiled, happy that the other seemed to like it.

«Oh yeah, I never really thanked you for your birthday present, did I?» Minseok asked, having noticed where the other's gaze had fallen on. Out of an impulse he stepped closer to the brunet and engulfed him in a hug. «Thank you very much,» he whispered into the other's ear. «I really love the lamp you gave me.» 

Jongdae was a bit surprised by the sudden action and didn't really know what he should do, so he just stood there dumbfounded and let himself being hugged. «You-You're welcome,» he replies with a shy smile. «I'm glad you like it.» 

Minseok didn't seem as if he intended to break the hug, so Jongdae sneaked his arms around the other's torso and returned it. They just stood there, hugging each other, until the sound of the doorbell interrupted the peaceful silence. 

«I guess I have to go and open the door,» Minseok said and reluctantly let go of the younger. He walked over to the door, Jongdae following him like a lost puppy.

From then on, more and more people arrived, slowly filling the living room. Jongdae got along with all of them very well, since they were all really friendly and sociable. And he knew for sure that Minseok had been lying when he had said his friends had no fashion sense. There was this one guy named Sehun, who looked like he could wear anything and would absolutely rock it, and this other guy called Kibum who he was 90% sure that he was a model. 

The party was really kept small as Minseok had said, but they had a lot of fun anyways. They drank a bit and Jongdae got to know a lot of new information about Minseok, like some embarrassing childhood stories that made him giggle or more recent ones about how he made a bet with the library lady on who could first find three books with a character named "Peter" in it. He had lost, obviously.

It was a very joyful evening, nothing special but everyone was happy. The end of the small party arrived and everyone was going home. Yixing had already gone to sleep and Minseok had just bid his goodbye to Jinki and returned back to the living room, only to find Jongdae sleeping on the sofa, hugging a pillow. He chuckled at the cute sighed and walked over to the sleeping brunet. He admired the beautiful features of the younger, his fluffy hair... He had the sudden urge to let his fingers run through the brown locks. Instead, he gently nudged the younger's shoulder to wake him up. «Jongdae? Wake up, everyone's gone home.»

Jongdae opened his eyes sleepily and looked up at the other. «Already? I should... go home too...» he replied and rubbed his eyes. 

Minseok just laughed, dying internally at his cuteness. «You can also stay the night here if you want,» he offered. «I can lend you some clothes of mine.» He pulled Jongdae up and then to his room, giving him an oversized shirt and some boxers. «This should fit you, you can change in the bathroom.» 

Jongdae did as he was told, too tired to say anything. When he returned Minseok was just putting on a shirt similar to the one he was wearing. Suddenly wide awake he turned away, a small blush creeping up his face. He hadn't expected for Minseok's body to be so toned and he definitely didn't think that he would have abs. Then suddenly, a thought struck him. «Umm... where am I going to sleep?» he asked.

«If you don't mind we can share my bed, it's big enough for two. Or I could get the spare mattress from we have somewhere, but I had to look for it and I kind of don't want to wake up Yixing,» Minseok gestured to the bed and smiled apologetically. 

«Oh, I don't really mind.» Jongdae didn't know what else to say, so he decided to sit down on the mattress, which resulted in an awkward silence between the two.

Eventually, Minseok walked over to Jongdae, sitting down next to him. He laid his head on the younger's shoulder, a light smile brightening up his face. «I was really happy that you came today, so thanks for that,» he suddenly said, taking Jongdae by surprise. 

«You know,» he continued after a short moment of silence, «you are a really amazing person. Anything you do makes me smile.»

Jongdae was confused, what was happening? «What do you—» he got cut off before he could finish the sentence.

«I really like you. You are funny, you have beautiful and the most dazzling smile I've ever seen. You're my little Flower Boy,» Minseok chuckled. Jongdae wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Minseok putting a finger over the other's mouth to keep him silent. The black haired male sat up, facing the other and looking him directly in the eyes. «Everytime I see a flower I think of you. I think of your smile, your eyes, and your laugh. Jongdae, I...» At this point he hesitated, averting his gaze to the floor. «I really like you. As in more than just friends,» he said softly, not looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooof cliffhanger
> 
> I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas ^^


	9. One kiss, two kisses...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, It's been quite a while.

«I really like you. As in more than just friends.»

Jongdae couldn't believe what he just heard. He could have sworn that his heart skipped a few beats when Minseok said those words. He had muttered those words in a very soft, yet serious tone. The always so flirty and confident boy had still not looked up, stubbornly refusing to look at Jongdae. He seemed almost timid, sitting next to the brunet who was at loss for words. He just sat there, with wide eyes, trying to progress what was happening. It didn't help that his brain was half asleep, and his thoughts seemed to run as slow as honey.

After a few seconds of silence, which turned into a few minutes, Minseok stood up, still not looking at Jongdae. «You know what, it's a bit too late for talking about such things, don't you think so too?» He stretched his arms and sighed deeply. «I'm sorry for starting this. We should go to sleep. Just... Just stay here, I'll sleep in the living room.» He started walking to the door, still sparing the younger even a glance.

Jongdae began to panic. Do something, do something NOW! Don't let him walk away, don't let him walk away!

He didn't know what to do, and he didn't even try to think of something. It wouldn't have come anything out of it anyway, so why bother trying to come up with something and wasting time he could use for action?

He didn't know how it happened, but suddenly he was standing next to Minseok who had just arrived at the door. Jongdae grabbed Minseok's arm, spun him around and kissed him. Just like that.

It was a short but sweet kiss. Jongdae pulled back quickly, his face was tainted with a bright blush and his heart felt as if it would burst right out of his chest. He had just kissed Minseok without thinking, but now he didn't know what to say. «I-I don't— I didn't— I mean I—,» he stuttered, struggling for words.

He was interrupted when Minseok closed the distance between himself and the panicked boy. This time it was Jongdae who was being spun around, and before the poor boy could understand what the other was doing his back hit the door, Minseok's hands placed on both sides next to his shoulders, his lips pressed against Jongdae's.

This kiss was totally different from the first one. The first one had been like a newly sprouted flower in spring, light and gentle. This one was like a thunderstorm in comparison.

Jongdae felt a million things at one time. He felt the wood of the door behind him, he felt the heat radiating from Minseok's body, he felt his heartbeat racing in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach. His whole body prickled from energy and he was suddenly not tired at all. He had intuitively closed his eyes during the kiss, enjoying the sensation of Minseok's tender lips moving against his own.

Too soon Minseok leaned back, breaking the passionate kiss. Jongdae opened his eyes reluctantly, slightly pouting as he looked into the other's beautiful dark eyes. Those eyes he fell in love with the day Minseok had entered the flower shop for the first time. They were staring ever so lovingly at him now, it was truly breathtaking.

«You have no idea just how happy I am right now,» Minseok broke the silence that lasted between them. 

Jongdae couldn't answer, he was still catching his breath from the kiss, and his thoughts were a total rollercoaster at the moment. He couldn't catch even one straight thought, let alone form a comprehensible sentence. So he just stuck to smile back at the beautiful being in front of him. The beautiful being he had just kissed. Two times. It felt like a dream, not real at all. 

«You're smile is still as dazzling as the first day I saw you,» Minseok chuckled and then leaned over to the side to switch off the light. «We should go to sleep, it's quite late already.» 

The two were now standing in complete darkness. Minseok searched for Jongdae's hand, tugging it to lead him back to the bed. Carefully, he reached out for the mattress, sitting down while he let go of the younger's hand. He felt the bed bounce lightly when Jongdae settled down next to him. They both lay down next to each other, none of them able to sleep. To be honest, they didn't even try. They weren't aware of it, but they both were scared to wake up the next morning to find the events from just before had been merely a dream. And so they simply stared into the void, not speaking a word.

«Minseok?» Jongdae suddenly whispered almost inaudibly.

«Yes?» came back the answer, just as quietly.

«I just wanted to check whether this really wasn't a dream,» Jongdae explained, followed by a quiet yawn. It was silent once again, but not long and the brunet heard the rustling of the bedsheet. A warm hand touched his hair, stroking gently through it and moved then down to his face, over his forehead, his nose. The hand drew a circle on his cheek, just to then move over to gently brush his lips. There was more rustling, then a pair of soft lips on his own. 

It wasn't more than a peck, very short and very sweet. But to compensate for it, Minseok wrapped his arms tightly around the other, wrapping him up in his embrace. «I won't ever let this be a dream,» he murmured into the ear of the other. He could feel Jongdae laugh lightly.

«It tickles,» the younger complained and tried to wriggle out of Minseok's arms only to have them wrapped around him even tighter. Eventually, he just gave up, letting the other cuddle him as if there was no tomorrow. They didn't say anything anymore after that, and soon they fell asleep, limbs tangled and both with a smile on their face. 

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«Minseok where do we keep the— oh my god, nevermind, sorry.»

Woken up by the voice of his best friend, Minseok fluttered his eyes open, squinting at the bright light falling through the window into his room. He tried to get up but was held back by something in his arms. Or better someone. The corners of his lips tugged upwards into a lazy smile as he stared down at the beautiful boy in his arms. His light brown hair was messed up because he probably turned around several times in his sleep, judging from the mess their legs had created with the bedsheets as well as the fact that Jongdae was now facing him, snuggling his face into the other's chest. Moving his fingers slowly through the soft locks of the younger, Minseok couldn't look away. The light of the morning sun fell on his face, tainting it with a golden glow. The boy looked ethereal. 

The sound of something falling down interrupted the moment of peace, and Minseok sighed. He pressed a loving kiss on Jongdae's forehead, then started to carefully disentangle himself without waking up the still sleeping boy. Successfully getting up he left the sleeping Jongdae behind and went to look for Yixing. He found his best friend in the bathroom, surrounded by different washing items such as shampoos, shower gels and conditioner spread all around him. 

«What the... Yixing? Why?», he questioned the Chinese sitting in the midst of this chaos.

The man in question turned his head and smiled sheepishly. «I think I'm kind of hungover,» he admitted. «And I was looking for some painkillers, but I didn't find them and when I wanted to ask you, well, I'm not the one to interrupt your quality time with your boyfriend. So I searched for them myself and yeah... I didn't quite expect that they would fall down this fast.»

«Why would I put the painkiller to where we keep the shampoos?» Minseok sighed and helped the other up. «Go and sit down somewhere. I'll clean up and bring them to you, they're in my room,» he said, starting to pick up several bottles and putting them up into the cupboard where they belonged. 

«You used them again?» Yixing asked, making Minseok freeze. «You know that you shouldn't—»

«Just don't. Please.» Minseok's shoulders visibly slumped down. «I'm okay.»

Yixing frowned at that statement but didn't say anything. He just watched the other clean up, evident worry in his eyes. 

A few minutes later the delicious smell of coffee diffused through the apartment, pulling Jongdae out of his deep slumber. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to remember what happened yesterday and why he wasn't in his own bed. Wait. Minseok's party. He stayed here to sleep. The kisses. The kisses! He felt his cheeks heat up at the memory. He had kissed Kim Minseok yesterday. More than once. He groaned and buried his face in the pillow. His stomach was doing this weird thing again. This thing that it twisted and made summersaults, while thousands of butterflies were tingling inside it. It was an exciting feeling. 

The brunet slowly got up from the bed, not bothering to change clothes. The smell of coffee strongly allured him. With still sleepy eyes he entered the kitchen, smelling in the air like a puppy. 

«Good morning Flower Boy,» Minseok greeted him while placing a big mug in front of Yixing. 

«Morning,» Jongdae replied, toddling over to the table and surprising Minseok with a back hug. Closing his eyes he snuggled his head into the other's neck, humming contently.

«Oh my, so much affection so early in the morning?» Minseok chuckled, leaning back into the hug. 

«Shut up and let me hug you,» Jongdae muttered, followed by a cute little yawn. «Can I have a coffee?» he then asked.

«If you let me go, yes.»

«Maybe I don't really need that coffee...» His head still hidden in the crook of Minseok's neck he refused to let go of the other, making him laugh.

Minseok didn't try to convince the brunet with words, instead, he started to tickle the other, which proved to be way more effective. His victim screeched and let go immediately, stumbling back. The poor boy ended up falling on his bottom since he wasn't fully awake yet. It didn't help that Minseok snorted at the sight, not doing anything helpful. Pouting, Jongdae got up, walking around the still laughing boy and sitting down across from Yixing, who, not really fond of the loud voices, now got up and retreated into the living room. 

«Please– please don't sulk!» Minseok said between fits of laughter. «I'll make you a coffee, okay?»

Jongdae ignored him, not even reacting when Minseok finally placed a warm coffee with milk and cream in front of him. 

«Aw, come on, don't do that,» Minseok chuckled, finding the behaviour of the younger rather amusing. He took a seat next to the sulking boy, facing him. But Jongdae wouldn't budge. Minseok leaned closer, breathing against the other's neck. He noticed the pink shadow the younger's cheeks, chuckling slightly. His lips ghosted over the white skin, barely touching it. Jongdae started to nervously move around in his seat, seemingly uncomfortable. Minseok began to press butterfly kisses down the brunet's neck, finally getting a reaction.

«Stop! Please!» Jongdae muttered, wriggling away from Minseok's touch. 

«Why?» Minseok asked, chasing after him to press another kiss just over his collarbone. 

Jongdae couldn't answer, because he leaned back to far and lost his balance. Out of an impulse he grabbed onto Minseok, causing the both of them to fall down together. They landed on the kitchen floor, Minseok on top of Jongdae, the stool Jongdae had sat on somewhere next to them. 

«Are you hurt?» Minseok asked the boy underneath him, slightly shocked from what just had happened. 

«No, I don't think so,» Jongdae answered with a slightly trembling voice, trying to get up, only to be pushed down again. «What are you—» A pair of sweet lips cut him off. Minseok smiled into the kiss, gently stroking Jongdae's cheeks with his thumbs. Jongdae closed his eyes, letting himself go, enjoying the kiss and the bubbly feeling that came with it. 

«Are you two okay? I heard a— Oh Jesus Maria, WHY?»

The two broke apart, turning their heads in surprise to look at Yixing who had just entered the room, an exasperated look on his face. «Seriously? On the kitchen floor?» Grumbling something incoherent he turned on the spot, going back to his abandoned coffee. «I swear, I'm never going to check on them again,» he muttered to himself, sighing deeply.

The two got up, awkwardly taking a seat at the table once again. 

«Jongdae?» Minseok suddenly said, making the other focussing his whole attention on him. «I don't really know how to phrase this, but, would you by any chance, want to be my boyfriend?» He took a deep breath and stared at the younger, his eyes full of sincerity. 

Jongdae, taken by surprise, didn't quite know what to answer, so he just kept it simple. «Yes?»

A bright smile lit up Minseok's face, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. «Yess!» he shouted, punching his fist in the air. «Yixing!» the overjoyed male shouted in the direction of the living room, «I have a boyfriend!»

«I know!» came back the grumpy answer.

Jongdae giggled at the sight of his boyfriend – a beautiful term to use. 

«You know,» Minseok turned to look at Jongdae, «you just made me the happiest person on earth.»

Hearing that, a slight blush appeared on the brunet's face, but he also showed a toothy grin, beaming at the other. «Anything for you,» he smiles lovingly. 

They stared at each other like that for a couple seconds, then they both leaned in for a kiss, meeting halfway. This kiss was full of love, it lasted longer than any other they had shared so far. Breathless, they broke apart. Spontaneously, Jongdae engulfed his boyfriend in a hug, clinging to him like a koala. 

«So you like hugs?» Minseok laughed, internally squealing at the cuteness.

«Yes. You'll have to deal with that from now on, boyfriend.»

«Oh, I'll gladly will, don't worry.»


	10. Fuchsia and Chrysanthemum

The bright ringing of the little bell resonated through the shop, announcing a new customer. The sun was shining, making the day as beautiful as it could be. The smell of flowers and gardening mud hung in the air. Jongdae had spent the time since he had opened the shop with taking care of a new flower he had got for himself, and upon hearing someone enter, the brunet got up, and as usual, a wide smile displayed on his face.

«Hi, and welcome to our lovely flower shop!» he beamed, walking up to the front. «Oh, it's you! Nice to see you again. Felix, am I right?» He recognized one of the two boys standing in the entrance. 

«Yeah!» the boy replied, showing a toothy grin. «This is Changbin, my friend.» He nudged the dark-haired boy standing next to him in the side.

«Hi,» the boy called Changbin just said, giving Jongdae a shy smile.

«Is he the boy you got the flowers for?» the older asked curiously, walking over to the counter with the two boys trailing behind. 

Felix blushed slightly at the question, scratching his neck nervously. «Yes, he is,» he admitted sheepishly. The other boy laughed quietly, letting his gaze wander over to the shelves with the flowers.

Jongdae cooed at the sight. «You two are so cute, I can't—» The poor boys didn't know where to look, noticeably embarrassed. «But anyway, what do you need today?» 

Felix started stuttering around, seemingly lost and very nervous, until Changbin interrupted him by swatting a hand over the boy's mouth. «We're kind of on a date,» he explained with a little sigh. «And he wanted to buy me something sweet and dragged me in here, that's why we're here. But we can also leave—»

He was interrupted by Jongdae who let out a high-pitched squeal. «Oh my god, no, don't leave!» he exclaimed, grinning widely from on ear to the other. «Wait for a second, admire the flowers and kiss or something, I'll be right back.» The brunet turned around to race to the back, knowing exactly what he'll get the two cute boys. After rummaging around in the storage room, he found what he had been looking for. Storming back to the front of the shop he presented the two items to the awkwardly waiting boys. Jongdae noticed how close they were standing to each other, yet not close enough that the would touch each other. So cute.

«Here!» he gave each boy a colourful flower crown he had just made the day before. They were made of various dried flowers, sprayed over with blue and white. «You can have them for free if I get to take a picture of you two wearing them,» he said, a mischievous grin on his face. 

Felix was staring in awe at the flower crown, turning it around in his hands. «Did you make them?» he asked Jongdae with shining eyes. Changbin, on the other hand, didn't really know what to do with the thing in his hand. He had to admit that it was very pretty, but he seemed unsure whether he really wanted it on top of his head. Jongdae nodded at Felix question, explaining how the dried flowers would last longer with the paint sprayed on, making them a unique gift. Not really interested in their conversation, Changbin decided to take action and placed his flower crown on top of Felix' blond hair. He stared at his work, undoubtedly pleased. 

«Cute,» he muttered, not able to bite back the smile creeping up his face. 

Jongdae enjoyed the scene playing out before him excitedly. This was better than any K-Drama he'd ever watched. Clasping his hands together he continued to grin stupidly at the adorable couple. 

Just then the door opened and the bell rung anew. Jongdae looked up, only to be greeted by an unexpected but heart-stopping view. Minseok had just entered, looking absolutely stunning. He wore a black leather jacket over a tight white shirt, combined with dark blue pants. But the most fascinating part was his hair: they were now dyed pastel pink, styled up and making him look hotter than ever. He spotted his boyfriend standing with the two boys, strolling over to them.

«Hello Flower Boy,» he greeted, a smug smile displaying. «You might want to close your mouth, I know I'm hot, but you wouldn't want to be drooling in front of your customers, would you?» he laughed, placing a hand under the brunet's chin, gently pushing up his lower jaw. 

Jongdae felt his heartbeat trip at Minseok's words, looking away in embarrassment. He cleared his throat, guiding away the hand on his chin, but not letting it go again. Minseok lifted an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything. 

«Hi to you too,» Jongdae answered. «As you can see, I'm kinda busy... Mind waiting for a moment?» 

Minseok grinned and shook his head. «Not at all.» Since Jongdae didn't seem to let go of his hand he simply stayed next to him. Changbin and Felix were silent through the whole conversation, not entirely sure how to react. But now Jongdae's attention was on them once again. 

«So, can I have that photo?» he asked the two boys with sparkling eyes, his free hand already grabbing his phone.

«I guess?» Felix agreed, hesitantly reaching for Changbin to pull him closer. He put the other flower crown he still held in his hands on top of Changbin's head, smiling timidly. Then the two looked at Jongdae, signalling that they were ready.

«Oh my, you two look so adorable!» Jongdae cooed, smiling happily at the picture he had taken. «Can you two do something cute?» When he requested this, he certainly didn't expect Changbin to lean over and press a soft kiss on Felix' cheek. And neither did Felix. The boy froze on the spot, eyes wide and mouth agape. After a good three seconds, Changbin broke away his lips from the other boy's cheek, clearly flustered.

Next to Jongdae Minseok was cackling at the sight of the couple in front of them. «You— ohmygod— please— please tell me you two are dating!» he laughed in delight.

«He's too shy to ask me,» Changbin murmured, chuckling lightly at the now darkly blushing boy next to him. 

«How about you ask him here and now then?» Minseok suggested.

«Wanna be my boyfriend?» Changbin asked not missing a beat. Felix, who was getting more and more embarrassed with every second, just nodded, his face hiding in his hands by now. Changbin smiled happily and removed Felix' hands from his face, only to pull him closer. He pressed a chaste kiss on the blond's lips, making Jongdae and Minseok cheer loudly at them.

«Such an innocent kiss,» Minseok grinned, having something in his mind. He reached for Jongdae's neck, suddenly pulling him closer and pressing his lips onto the other's, indicating a not so innocent kiss. Jongdae was taken by surprise but just smiled into the kiss, tilting his head a bit to prevent their noses from bumping into each other. They heard a loud gasp, and as they broke apart they saw how Changbin had put his hand over Felix' eyes, staring at them wide-eyed. 

«I have to protect his innocence,» he explained, swallowing dryly. «Because dang, that was hot.»

Minseok chuckled at that remark, while Jongdae hit his shoulder. «They are children!» he scolded his boyfriend, not really mad though as he too was smiling. 

Felix and Changbin bid their goodbyes and left the shop shortly after. They had a date to continue on after all. And thus, Jongdae was left alone with Minseok. 

«Sooo... why are you here? I thought you had lectures to attend?» he asked curiously, absentmindedly combing with his fingers through Minseok's hair. «Nice hair colour by the way. It suits you.»

«The lecture got cancelled, so I thought I'd drop by. And I know, your reaction when I came in told me enough.» He smirked, giving the other a wink.

«Yeah whatever,» Jongade mumbled, not wanting to recall that rather awkward moment. 

«I might want to invite you for dinner as well, so if you don't have anything planned...?» Minseok added, now completely serious. A bit surprised at the change of mood the brunet stopped stroking his boyfriend's hair.

«Yes, I'm free. Where are we going?» 

«I don't know yet.» Minseok shrugged his shoulders, stepping away. «I'll think of something until later, okay?» He gave the other a reassuring smile. «But it surely won't be something fancy, I'm still a university student.» 

Jongdae could only laugh at that, knowing fully about the financial situation Minseok was in. «You know, you could just let me invite you for once, then we could save up for something a bit more expensive,» he teased, earning a grumble from his boyfriend who didn't seem so pleased with that idea.

«I like to spoil you though,» he pouted. «So just let me do so.»

«Aw, such a cute little boyfriend I have,» Jongdae uttered, squishing the older's cheeks. 

«I have to go back soon, you know,» his boyfriend spoke up. «So could you please stop abusing my cheeks?»

«Why would I?» Jongdae didn't want to let go of the soft cheeks yet.

Grabbing his wrists to detach his hands from his face, Minseok pulled Jongdae forward. Their chests collided and Minseok leaned in closer, pressing a little peck on the tip of the other's nose. «So I can kiss you a bit more.»

And he did exactly that. It started out all sweet and soft but grew more and more heated as the kiss went on. Somehow Jongdae's hands found their way down to Minseok's ass, squeezing it gently. 

«Hey!» Minseok gasped in surprise, breaking the kiss to stare at his boyfriend in disbelief. «Did you just grab my butt?»

«What if I did?» Jongdae asked innocently, blinking rapidly.

«I can't believe you—» Shaking his head he poked the other's nose. «I thought you were pure!»

His boyfriend just laughed, wriggling out of his boyfriend's arms. «You should go now before Luhan walks in on us making out when I'm supposed to work.»

«Yeah, I guess,» Minseok agreed, holding him back to press one last kiss onto Jongdae's cheek. «See you later!»

«Bye!»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to fluff time! I hope you didn't mind the side Changlix, Stray Kids are my babies.   
> Have a nice week!


	11. Mom, Dad, this is my Boyfriend

Jongdae had just locked the door of the flower shop, ready to go home, when his phone started to ring. Not bothering looking at the caller ID he answered the call with a happy «Yes hello, Kim Jongdae here!».

«Jongdae my baby, how are you?» 

The brunet almost let go of his phone when he heard the familiar voice through the phone. «Mom! Omg, hi! I'm fine, and how are you? How is Dad?» he beamed. 

«We're both fine thank you, we miss your calls though. Are you that busy that you forget your parents?» he heard his mother chuckle on the other end of the line. Hearing his mother mention that, he realized that he really did forget to call them the last few weeks. Instant guilt washed over him, knowing fully that this was because he had spent so much time with Minseok. 

«Uh... sorry. Yes, you could say that I was busy, but—»

«Oh Chen Chen, don't be so awkward and just tell me everything about your boyfriend! Does he treat you well?» his mother laughed and Jongdae was baffled. How did she know he had a boyfriend? He told his parents long ago that he was gay, so that was not the issue. But she would always tease him that he'd never find his «special someone».

«How.. how do you know?» he asked, not bothering to hide how surprised he was.

«Oh, your friend Baekhyun told me. I ran into him at the mall yesterday.» Oh, so that was it. But wait, how did Baekhyun know that they got officially together? Jongdae was confused, but he didn't have time to give it more thought for his mother continued talking.

«Anyways, I was calling because I wanted to ask if you are free this evening? I and your dad thought it would be nice to go on a family dinner, it's been quite some time since our last one, don't you think?»

Jongdae sighed inwardly before responding to the question. «Well, actually I have a date this evening, we wanted to go out and eat dinner, so...» he said apologetically.

«Even better!» his mother simply stated unfazed. «Bring him along, then we will get to know him. If he is okay with that, of course,» she added quickly.

That was exactly what Jongdae thought she would say. His mother was a very spontaneous person, making decisions on the spur of a moment. «I will ask him,» he assured her. «I'll call you back, okay? I love you, and say hi to dad!» His mother just laughed, said yes, she would say hi, and that she would be anticipating his call. They ended the call there, and Jongdae quickly dialled his boyfriend's number. It didn't take long for Minseok to answer.

«Hi Flower Boy!» Minseok's voice made Jongdae smile brightly.

«Hi, boyfriend! I'm calling because of today's dinner date. You see, my parents called and asked if we wanted to eat dinner with them?» He held his breath, not knowing what Minseok would say. For some reason, he was quite nervous, he was chewing on his bottom lip and he felt his palm become slightly sweaty. Minseok didn't say anything for a couple seconds, which made the brunet only more nervous. 

«Uhm.. I guess that's fine?» the boy on the other line then finally answered. Jongdae let out a sigh of relief and wondered why he was so anxious about the whole thing. 

«Great! I'll come and get you at seven, is that okay?»

«Yeah, sure,» he heard Minseok answer hesitantly. «Well, I have to end the call now, see you then!» And with that, he hung up. Taken aback by his strange behaviour, Jongdae didn't even have the chance to say goodbye. He was slightly worried for Minseok, was he alright? He decided to shrug it off, it was probably nothing serious. He quickly called his mother back to inform her that Minseok had accepted the invitation and they set a time and place to meet up for their dinner. After a glance at his watch, he quickly rushed home, seeing that there was barely enough time left for him to shower. 

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Minseok stared worriedly at the phone in his hand, thinking about what Jongdae had just told him. In a way, he was very glad that they got invited, since he missed to look for a suitable place for their evening date, but on the other hand... He had to admit that he was somewhat scared. He would meet his boyfriend's parents for the first time. What if they didn't approve of him? He didn't want to leave a bad impression. He sighed. He just hoped from the bottom of his heart that it wouldn't be awkward for either him or Jongdae or his parents. He let out a loud whine and threw himself on the couch face down, where he just stayed for several minutes. 

«Shouldn't you be getting ready or something?» Yixing's voice destroyed the silence in the room. Minseok lifted his head to glare at his best friend who was judging him silently. «It's almost six, and I know you haven't taken a shower yet. So get your ass off the couch, I don't want you running around in panic,» Yixing scoffed and threw a towel at him. 

Minseok needed a moment to let the words sink in. Six... almost six o'clock... Jongdae would come at seven... wait— Jongdae would come at seven! Cursing under his breath he jumped up and took the quickest shower he had ever taken. By the time he finally found something suitable to wear it was already half past six, and when he had finished styling his hair and was finally ready, it was already past six-fifty. Slightly stressed out he entered the kitchen, only to walk out again without doing anything in there. Just when he decided to sit down to wait, the doorbell rang. He nervously opened the door and was greeted with a warmly smiling Jongdae. 

«Hi, Minseok,» he said, handing him a single red tulip. «I guess today it's my turn to give you flowers,» he joked and stepped closer to his boyfriend. 

Minseok gladly took the flower from the younger, instantly feeling calmer by his presence. «Hi Flower Boy.» He gave Jongdae a sweet kiss, then stepped back and explained; «I'll just quickly put this lovely flower in a vase, then we can go.» 

Jongdae just nodded, not having to wait long until Minseok returned to put on his shoes and a jacket. Jongdae noticed, that his boyfriend had taken extra care when choosing his outfit. He wore a pair of white jeans with a black belt combined with a denim button down. Jongdae swallowed, he looked chic and handsome, the definition of boyfriend material. His boyfriend material. He chuckled slightly at that thought, earning an irritated glance from Minseok. 

They left hand in hand, walking down the street. «Where are we going?» Minseok asked curiously, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth. 

«My parents are waiting at the Thai place down the street. It's a really short distance, so I figured we can walk.» Jongdae glanced at his boyfriend for approval, which he got. 

«I don't think I've ever been there,» Minseok stated with a bright smile. 

Jondae chuckled slightly. «I think you will like it. I go there often with Chanyeol and Baekhyun.» Upon seeing the questioning look on Minseok's dace he was quick to add; «The guys I've been with when I came to your restaurant, you know, when you, well, when you gave me your number.» He blushed at the memory, mainly because of Baek's comment about Minseok's «fine ass» that was still stuck in his mind. Why was it that he remembered exactly this small detail? He suddenly felt the urge to grab his boyfriend's butt, just like this afternoon in the flower shop. Shaking his head he urged himself out of his thoughts. It was really strange what kind of an effect Minseok had on him. 

They continued to walk in a comfortable silence, not letting go of each other's hand until they arrived at the restaurant. Jongdae desperately hoped that his parents had already arrived since he didn't know whether hey reserved a table or not. Just when they were about to enter he felt Minseok tense up next to him. Worriedly, he stopped turned to look at him. 

«Are you okay?» he asked with a gentle tone and drew an arm around Minseok's waist to pull him closer. 

«I guess I'm just a tiny little bit nervous to meet your parents?» Minseok replied in a surprisingly small voice that didn't suit him at all. 

Jongdae didn't think twice and threw his arms around his boyfriend, almost suffocating him in the short hug he gave him. Then he pecked his nose and grabbed both of his hands. «Hey, there's nothing to worry about, you are perfect, and I'm sure that my parents will like you,» he assured him, trying to sound as optimistic as he could. «And now let's go inside, they should be already there.» Letting go of one of his hands, he pulled Minseok through the door with the other and started to look for his parents, stretching his neck like a giraffe while trying to spot them. Just when one of the waiters started to approach them he finally had found them. Dragging Minseok behind him he walked over with fast steps. 

«Mom! Dad!» the brunet called out excitedly and waved at his parents who looked up from the menu. A big smile lighted up the woman's face, and Minseok now knew exactly where Jongdae had his dazzling sunshine-smile from. The pair stood up to greet the two newcomers, both giving Jongdae a loving hug and Minseok a fierce handshake. 

«Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Minseok,» Jongdae proudly introduced the pastel-pink-haired next to him. Minseok politely bowed to each of them.

«It's my pleasure to make your acquaintance,» he smiled and only then realized that he was still holding Jongdae's hand. But since it was rather comfortable, he just gave it a small squeeze. He smiled slightly when the gesture was returned. 

The rest of the evening passed by rather quickly, Jongdae's parents were extremely nice and soon, they had practically adopted Minseok as their second child and he was feeling a lot more relaxed than he thought he would be. They talked a lot, and soon they already stood outside again, bidding their goodbyes to each other and then he was walking home with Jongdae. Arriving at his apartment, he turned around to Jongdae and smiled lovingly at him.

«Thank you, it was a very nice evening,» he said, lifting a hand to caress his boyfriend's cheek.

Jongdae leaned into the touch and giggled slightly. «Well, I have to thank you for meeting with my parents.» They stayed silent for a bit, then Jongdae asked: «When will I meet your parents?»

Minseok stiffened and adverted his gaze to the floor. «Probably never,» he whispered through gritted teeth. «They... they don't really talk to me anymore.»

«I'm sorry.» Jongdae didn't know what to say. It was clear that he had hit a sensitive topic that had turned the mood into something uncomfortable. He carefully stepped closer to Minseok, lifting his head with both hands placed on his cheeks. «I really am, I shouldn't have asked that.» 

A weak smile flashed over Minseok's lips, his eyes suddenly sad. «It's okay, you wouldn't have known.» Then he sighed deeply and stepped back. «Do you want to come in? I... Maybe I should tell you something. About... you know. About me and my family.»


	12. White Roses

Minseok was running from one room to the other, making Yixing, who sat on the couch and tried to read a book, go crazy. Jongdae was currently on the toilet, and Minseok was extremely anxious.

After the sixth time the pastel-pink-haired man had walked through the living room, almost tripping over his own feet because he was too busy overthinking, Yixing had had enough. He got up from the couch, throwing the book down on the table – not before he had placed a bookmark neatly in between the pages though – and grabbed his best friend, forcing him to sit down.

«Stay,» he warned Minseok who opened his mouth to protest but was cut off before he could even say something. «I swear if you make one more step I'm going to throw you out! What makes you this nervous anyway? Chill, man!»

Minseok shifted uncomfortably on the couch, nervously playing with his fingers, then he took a deep breath. «I'm... I'm thinking about telling him,» he mumbled, the nervousness evident on his face.

Yixing's eyes widened. «You... you want to tell him?» He immediately sat down and took the other in his arms, giving him a warm hug. «That's really brave,» he whispered. His best friend didn't answer, only nuzzling his face into the other's shoulder, returning the hug that was desperately needed.

Yixing then pushed the other away from him, staring at him with a serious face. «But you know, pacing up and down like an imprisoned tiger doesn't make this better, not at all. And it gives me a headache,» he scolded, but a playful smile gave him away. Minseok grinned at that, apologizing for disturbing his best friend's calm evening, while Yixing just laughed it off.

«You know, it's going to be alright,» he smiled encouragingly at the pink-haired male, throwing an arm around his shoulder. «I can't believe that Jongdae would think bad of you because of something like that. Or anyone for that matter. Hey, he won't treat you any different, okay?»

Minseok sighed, leaning his head back on Yixing's shoulder. «I know... It's just, no one except you and Jinki know about this. I've never talked with anyone else, and I'm scared that I won't find the right words.»

A scowl could be heard from Yixing. «Oh come on, you're Kim Minseok, you always find the perfect words. Have some confidence in yourself buddy.»

«That's a bit harder than it sounds okay?» Minseok answers with a frown.

«Well, in that case, I'll have enough confidence for you that it will suffice.» With that Yixing stood up and walked to the door. «I'm going out for a walk so you two can have your space. Just call me if anything happens, okay? You got this.» And with a last little wave, the male was gone.

A smile found his way onto the face of the man left behind. Moments like this reminded him why Yixing was his best friend and he loved him for that. These little comments were what made his days and they were the reason why he was able to move on.

Just then he heard the flush of the toilet and immediately got nervous all over again. Jongdae stepped into the room, spotting his boyfriend sitting on the couch. A warm smile made its way on his face while he walked over to Minseok to sit down next to him.

«So,» he started, «you wanted to tell me something.» Even though he did his best to hide it, he was just as nervous as Minseok, he felt the tension in the air and saw how much his boyfriend was struggling. Minseok took a deep breath and opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it again without having said anything.

«You know, you don't need to tell me if you're not ready, » Jongdae quietly assured him. «It just hurts to see you like that. You're the confident one here, remember?» he tried to lift the mood.

Minseok chuckled to that, but the worried expression stayed on his face. He sighed and dropped his head into Jongdae's lap. «Can you kiss me?» he suddenly asked, looking up at Jongdae who had just watched him.

«Of course,» Jongdae murmured softly, leaning down to capture his boyfriend's lips. After a few seconds, he pulled away and stroked absentmindedly through Minseok's pink hair. «Please say something,» he then pleaded with a barely audible voice.

«It's just really hard to find the right words,» Minseok sighs. «It's about my family,» he reluctantly started. «More specifically, about my father. They...» He hesitated. Then he swallowed dryly, followed by a shaky breath. «They didn't... they weren't exactly positive about me being gay.» He felt Jongdae tense up, but not stopping the continuous movement of his fingers running through the older's hair. «I came out to them when I was sixteen when we were eating dinner together. And well, it went a bit different from what I had been hoping.» Minseok let out a choked laugh, looking up at his boyfriend with a bitter expression.

Jongdae had a vague idea of what had happened on that evening, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions, so he wordlessly encouraged Minseok to continue speaking.

«They threw me out of the house that same evening,» Minseok whispered through gritted teeth. «I knew that they weren't exactly the most open people when it came to homosexuality or LGBT stuff in general, but I'd never thought that they would just abandon me like that. I've never spoken a word with them since that day.»

Minseok fell silent after that. Jongdae didn't know what to say. This was a lot heavier than what he had prepared himself for, and his heart ached for his boyfriend. He could only imagine what the older must have gone through, and alone the thought of it was enough to let salty tears form themselves in his eyes. One single teardrop escaped and fell down on Minseok's face.

«Are you crying? Oh no, please don't cry,» the older uttered, sitting up to cup Jongdae's face in his hands.

«How can I not cry?» the brunet stammered, blinking to prevent more tears from falling out of his eyes. «It must have been awful... You didn't deserve this! No one deserves to be thrown out of their home for how they are feeling! I can't... I can only imagine how you must have felt, and... and I... I...»

«Shhh,» Minseok silenced his rambling boyfriend by putting a tiny peck on his lips. «I managed to survive.» He smiled sadly. «I lived at Jinki's for a bit, until I had found a job and could somehow afford my own apartment. I met Yixing at that time, he offered to share this apartment. It's a wonder that I managed to stay in school and graduate, and I wouldn't have been able to do so if it hadn't been for Jinki and his parents, who did a lot for me. It wasn't exactly a good time in my life.»

«But... you were sixteen!» Jongdae protested. «You were still a kid!»

Minseok couldn't help but laugh at that. «Hey, sixteen is not that young!» He returned to his previous position, placing his head once again on top of his boyfriend's lap. «You do have a point though. I struggled a lot, mainly because I had to grow up from a teen to an adult so fast. I guess my mental health suffered quite a bit.» He looked up to see Jongdae glance worriedly at him. «Don't look at me like that, please. It's okay now, it really is. I am okay.» He smiled and reached out to brush a strand of Jongdae's hair out of his eyes. «I don't want to see you sad because of me, Flower Boy.»

Jongdae twisted his mouth in a cute pout, not fully convinced, but not wanting to upset his boyfriend.

«We should do something to lift up the mood, I kind of destroyed the nice evening we had,» Minseok then sighed apologetically. «How about we watch a movie? You can just stay over if it gets too late.»

Jongdae reluctantly agreed, and soon they cuddled together on the couch, a random comedy movie playing on the TV. Minseok had sneaked an arm around Jongdae's waist, hugging him closely in the process. Jongdae's head rested in the crook of the older's neck. They stayed like this even after the movie had finished, just feeling each other's warmth and enjoying the presence of the other party. The lights were turned off, the TV was black as well, and the two sat in almost complete darkness.

«I am sorry that I ruined this wonderful evening,» Minseok suddenly spoke up. He felt Jongdae moving next to him, turning around to face him.

«Don't say things like that! I'm very glad that you decided to talk to me about this.» Jongdae spoke with a low and serious voice that warmed Minseok's heart and sent shivers down his spine at the same time. It was amazing how he could make him feel safe. Even though they hadn't known each other for that long, for Minseok Jongdae emitted a strong feeling of familiarity and _home_. He had never felt like this with anyone before, and it was a fascinating experience, one that he wouldn't trade for anything this world had to offer. And he wanted to give that feeling back. He wanted to let his boyfriend know what he meant to him. And so he leaned over, searching for Jongdae in the dark, pulling him in, arms sneaking around the other's body and their lips eventually meeting. Minseok put all his emotions, everything he felt, into that kiss, hoping that Jongdae would understand what he wanted to bring across.

Taken aback at first by his lover's actions, Jongdae was quick to reply just as passionate to the kiss, losing himself in it. They had never kissed like this, not with this much emotion and desperation. They felt their hearts beat in synchronisation, their lips moving together. It was new and thrilling.

When they separated again, they were both breathing heavily, pupils dilated and lips swollen. Minseok was the first to break the silence. «Jongdae,» he murmured with an unexpectedly low voice that tingled in the brunet's ear and made him feel all dizzy. «Jongdae, I'm completely in love with you.»

Jongdae's heart skipped a beat at that statement, and for a second he forgot how to breathe. He felt the heat rise in his cheeks, he wanted to say something, but he was too shocked to even think straight. It wasn't the first time Minseok told him these words, but never like this. It was different, it was longing, it was deeper and he stared at the younger with such intensity that Jongdae forgot to answer.

«It's totally okay if you can't say it back,» Minseok quickly added, not wanting to pressure Jongdae with anything, taking the other's silence in the wrong way.

«No, no,» Jongdae hastily sputtered. «It's just, it's so sudden... and I—»

«I'm going to give you all the time you need, don't worry about it,» Minseok interrupted him with a glint of hurt in his eyes and started to get up, only to be pulled back into another kiss by Jongdae.

«I've never said I didn't feel the same,» Jongdae hummed against his boyfriend's lips, his fingers tangled in the strands of Minseok's pastel pink hair that he loved so much. «I... I'm in love with you too,» he gasped against Minseok's mouth, his timid voice contradicting his rather bold actions as he pulled Minseok closer to kiss him once again.

Now it was Minseok's turn to be surprised, he couldn't say that he was complaining tho. A smile found its way onto his face as he let himself be pulled in, closer to Jongdae, closer to his lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end was so cheesy omg I want to throw myself out of the window. 
> 
> Blame it on me being sick.


	13. A true Stress-Situation

The next morning, Jongdae felt two things: One was Minseok's head on his bare chest, cuddled up to him, his arm laying peacefully over his torso and their legs tangled together with the bed sheet. And the second thing was a stinging pain in his lower back region. He blushed at the memory of what had happened last night. He had discovered a new side of Minseok, one he wouldn't have thought the older had. He glanced down at the sleeping man, smiling at how cute and innocent he was looking. Just then, the other's eyelids started to flutter open, and Minseok shifted a bit while slowly waking up, lifting his head with still half closed eyes to peek at Jongdae. 

«Good morning Flower Boy,» he yawned and looked absolutely adorable doing so. 

«Good Morning,» Jongdae mumbled back, pressing a light kiss on his boyfriend's forehead. «We should get up,» he then said, trying to move the body on top of him. But Minseok didn't seem eager to cooperate, he simply nuzzled his nose into Jongdae's chest and tightening his embrace. A small whine slipped past Jongdae's lips, causing the older to look up worriedly.

«Is everything okay?» he asked while carefully rolling off his boyfriend's body.

«Yeah,» Jongdae chuckled with a slightly pained expression. «Just a bit sore.»

Minseok quickly reached for the nightstand next to the bed. «Oh Baby, I'm really sorry,» he apologized with a genuinely worried expression on his face, handing Jongdae some painkillers and a bottle of water. 

«Don't be,» Jongdae shyly smiled. «It reminds me of last night.»

Minseok smirks and watches his boyfriend swallow the pill and jug down half of the water bottle. «Are you hungry?» he asked while getting up from the bed, stretching his arms over his head. He didn't miss the admiring glance Jongdae tried to steal and sheepishly asked: «Like what you see?» 

Jongdae immediately felt a small blush rise in his cheeks and threw a pillow at the older. «Show-off,» he mumbled and crinkled his nose in feigned disgust. He couldn't deny that he did, in fact, enjoy the whole thing though, and so he too started to get off the bed, although with a lot more difficulty than his boyfriend, given that his lower half still hurt quite a lot. 

Minseok searched for some t-shirts to throw on since they both were only in their boxers. When that was done, they headed to the kitchen to eat breakfast. It didn't look as if Yixing had returned home yet, so they assumed he had found another stay for the night. They ate without much talking, simply enjoying the silence of the morning. When they returned to Minseok's bedroom to get dressed, Jongdae noticed his phone blinking with messages. He frowned and grabbed the device to see who was spamming him at this ungodly hour— wait. He forgot something important, didn't he? «Minseok?» he asked alarmed. «What weekday do we have today?»

«Wednesday, why?» his boyfriend answered, busy trying to get his arms into the white shirt he intended to wear. 

«Oh shit, shitshitshit,» Jongdae cursed, realizing who must be messaging him like crazy. And he was proven right when he unlocked his phone and looked at the contact popping up on the screen.

«Everyting okay there?» Minseok asked, curious why his boyfriend suddenly sounded so stressed. Before Jongdae could give him an answer his phone started to ring and he answered it with a terrified look on his face.

«Hello?» 

«Yah, Kim Jongdae! Do you know what time it is? Why are you not here?» The phone didn't even need to put on speaker, the caller yelled loud and clear enough to be heard nevertheless. 

«Uh, Luhan, you know, I am, I mean I—» the poor boy stuttered, trying to find a believable excuse to why he hadn't shown up on work like he was supposed to, shooting helpless glances at his boyfriend.

«I'm listening, Jongdae,» Luhan spoke with an ice-cold voice. Jongdae knew he was fucked. He had been supposed to arrange the bouquets and flower decor of a wedding today, quite an important job since it was a high-class wedding and they got paid a lot for it. And of course, he had totally forgotten.

Minseok decided to help out his boyfriend and took the phone away from him. «Hi, this is Minseok, I kind of kidnapped Jongdae yesterday, so it is really not his fault. I will make sure that he arrives at work as soon as possible though, see you there!» And without giving Luhan the chance to answer anything he hung up. He turned around to return the phone to Jongdae, chuckling at the flustered man in front of him. 

«I'm really fucked, Luhan is going to kill me,» he rambled, desperately pulling at his hair.

«Calm down, I won't let him do that,» Minseok assured his panicking boyfriend. «I still want to keep that nice ass of yours.» He smirked once again and gave Jongdae a gentle smack on his bottom.

«Hey!» the younger protested and glared at Minseok. Apparently, he didn't quite realize just how serious the situation was. 

The latter just laughed. «Get dressed so I can drive you to work, but only if Yixing didn't take the car yesterday.»

«What if he did?» Jongdae asked absentmindedly while putting on some of Minseok's clothes.

«Then we'll take the bus,» Minseok said, shrugging his shoulders and started to walk out of the room. 

Luckily, Yixing hadn't taken the car and about twenty minutes later they parked in front of the flower shop. Minseok got out and walked over to Jongdae's side to open the door for him. The brunet didn't budge and just shook his head when his boyfriend motioned for him to leave the car. 

«He will kill me, I know it. I should just quit, never come back, bury myself deep into the ground and—»

«Stop, listen,» Minseok interrupted him. «Flower Boy, you're terribly overreacting, he won't kill you, he still needs your help with the shop since he probably won't find a new worker in such a short time.»

«You don't know him,» Jongdae wanted to argue half-assed, but still let himself get dragged inside the shop. 

«Hi, we're here!» Minseok shouted. Just a second later a furious Luhan appeared, glaring with fiery eyes at the couple.

«You both better thank god that we have a shit ton of work to do and I can't afford to waste this time to yell at you, so you better move your asses and help me,» he furiously spat out and made both of them follow him. «And yes, Mister I-kidnap-my-boyfriend, you'll help too!»

And so the two both got to work. Jongdae made Minseok walk around to hand him everything he needed because he limped a lot more than he thought he would. Luhan seemed to notice that as well but decided not to comment on it for the time being. When they finally finished and had cleaned up Luhan announced that he wanted to speak alone with Jongdae. Minseok couldn't help but feel guilty since it was technically his fault that Jongdae would get scolded now. But Luhan could be a lot more intimidating than he thought and he admitted to being scared of the short Chinese. So he left and signalled Jongdae that he would wait for him in the car. 

Poor Jongdae, on the other hand, was sweating and fidgeted around nervously, waiting for his boss to say what he wanted to tell him. He expected a scolding, maybe he would even get fired? No, Luhan wouldn't do that, would he? 

«So,» Luhan started with a sigh, «How was it?»

Jongdae was confused. What was he being asked? «I... I don't think I understand what you mean,» he stammers and his gaze flickers from one side to the other. 

Luhan just waves with his hand through the air impatiently. «Well, you did it, right? Last night? You did the do? With your man?» There was now definitely a mischievous glint in his eyes. «Was he good? Or wait—» Luhan gasped and clasped his hands in front of his mouth. «Don't tell me you topped? No way, that's not possible!»

«Hey! What is that supposed to mean?» Jongdae protested deeply insulted. 

«I'm just messing with you,» his boss grinned and stepped closer, punching the younger lightly on the arm. «But spill the tea, how was it?»

«Well, it was— wait, why do you want to know that?» Jongdae seemed still angry and glared at Luhan. 

«Oh, you know, I'm curious. You're limping this hard, what else could be the cause for you not showing up this morning?» he laughed.

«Good, okay, we did the do, nice for you to know. But couldn't you have asked that in a less threatening way?» Jongdae pouted. «I had a minor heart attack! I thought you would fire me or something!»

«Oh, Chen Chen!» Luhan cooed and threw his arms around the brunet to engulf him in a literally bone-crushing hug. «I could never! You're like my child, oh my dear god I'm sorry! Although I do have to say, that I am indeed a bit disappointed. You could at least have sent me a message yesterday so that I wouldn't have been this overwhelmed,» he added in a scolding voice.

«So, I am not fired?» Jongdae asks timidly.

«Nope you're not, I just need to bring out the evil boss from time to time, we don't want this to happen frequently, 'kay?» Luhan wiggled his eyebrows and gave Jongdae a flick on the forehead. «And now go, or your boyfriend thinks that I've dragged you in my underground dungeon where I torture you with the poison of a wyvern or something.» And with that, he let go of the younger who stared at him in disbelief.

«Luhan, that was weird, even for you. Please never say something like that again,» he grumbled and made his way over to the door. Minseok was still waiting in the car, he was on his phone and looked up when Jongdae opened the door and climbed onto the passenger seat. 

«He is so weird, I swear! Why am I even friends with him?» the younger huffed and slouched back into the seat. 

«So you are free of any charges?» Minseok grinned.

«Yep. All he wanted to know was ho had topped.» Jongdae scrunched his nose and mumbled something incoherently under his breath. 

Minseok burst into a fit of laughter and started the engine to drive Jongdae home. As much as he didn't want to get separated, he had his own apartment. When Minseok was thinking about this, something came to his mind. «Hey Jongdae,» he said with an adventurous undertone. «Why don't you move in with me and Yixing?»

The questioned boy went blank for a second. «Wait, do you mean that? Is there even enough space?» He seemed sceptical, and that had its reasons. Something like that shouldn't just be decided so spontaneously, that could lead to problems afterwards. «Please don't misunderstand, I'd love to move in with you!» he quickly added upon seeing his boyfriend's disappointed face. «I'd just feel much safer if we discussed that with Yixing as well, and all that stuff that comes with it... Let's not rush it, okay?»

«Sometimes, in moments like these, I wonder who's the younger in this relationship,» Minseok quietly laughed but agreed with Jongdae. They decided to meet up on Saturday in Hui's restaurant to discuss everything. After saying goodbye to his boyfriend, he drove home as well, a bubbly feeling in his stomach and a happy grin on his face, that didn't come off for the whole rest of the day.


	14. The Roses are Dying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for some angst :0

**_Unknown number is calling..._ **

_«Yes, Hello?»_

_«Hi, is this Minseok?»_

_«Uh, yes? Who are you?»_

_«I'm Baekhyun, Jongdae's friend. We're at the hospital right now, he— Can you come?»_

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Minseok was whistling while walking through his home, a big black trash bag on his shoulder. Yixing was cleaning the kitchen wearing yellow cleaning gloves and for some reason Minseok didn't understand, diving goggles. But it was Yixing, so he didn't question him. It was cleaning day, something they had once every month where they cleaned their whole home together. They wouldn't do anything, or at most, it would be some half-hearted dusting if they hadn't organized it like this. And so they played their cleaning playlist with some motivational music - it contained tracks such as BTS' Fire and Dope, iKon's Worldwide and many more upbeat songs - and wouldn't stop until their home looked like fresh out of IKEA. They had done it for so long it became almost a tradition and by now they even enjoyed the cleaning a lot. Plus, today they were extra careful, they went over it multiple times and cleaned even in places they would never touch otherwise. Because it was planned that Jongdae would move in the next week. And oh, was Minseok excited!

«Minseok, are you taking the trash out?» Yixing stopped him and lifted the diving goggles up to his forehead. «Could you take the one from the kitchen as well? I put it next to the door,» he asked and pointed to the trash bag standing there.

«Sure thing,» Minseok smiled and continued his quest on dumping the trash outside for the litter service to pick up. When he had finished his job, he returned just when Yixing was walking out of the kitchen.

«Are we finished for today?» he asked his best friend and threw himself on the couch with a content sigh. Life could be beautiful when it was like this.

«Yep,» Yixing confirmed with a big smile on his face. This was the best part because now they would order some takeout - usually pizza or kebab - and binge watch old movies.

«How about we watch Moby Dick today?» Minseok shouted through the room, barely lifting his head from the pillow.

«Yeah, sure, why not?» Yixing shouted back from their cleaning closet where he was neatly putting the cleaning detergents and his yellow cleaning gloves. «The one with Gregory Peck, right?»

«Exactly,» his pink-haired friend grinned and rolled off the couch to search for the DVD.

One hour later they were happily munching a Pizza Diavolo since Yixing wanted something spicy and Minseok hadn't really anything to say against it while on the screen Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab made his first appearance to the crew of the Pequod.

«Hey Minseokie,» Yixing suddenly piped up, licking his greasy fingers absentmindedly. «Uhm, you don't need the car this evening, do you?» The dark-haired Chinese glanced shyly at his best friend and even hid behind a pillow.

«No, I don't,» Minseok answered suspiciously. «Why are you asking, it's your car, not mine.»

«Uh, just making sure,» Yixing hem and hawed. «I might need to go to the grocery store or something. We could need some banana milk.»

«You've never liked banana milk. What's really up?» Minseok's full attention was now on his best friend, he didn't even take time to pause the movie.

«Nothing!» the latter protested, proving himself wrong by pressing his face into the pillow.

«Are you blushing? Oh my, you're blushing!» Minseok screeched at the sight. «Okay, now you definitely need to tell me! Come on, you can't leave me hanging here!»

«ImightgotadatewithahandsomestrangerandIneedthecarbutpleasedon'tworryhe'sreallynice—» Yixing mumbled into the pillow so fast Minseok couldn't understand one word he said.

«Whoa, slow down!» he interrupted him and scooted closer.

Yixing took a deep breath and sneaked a glance from behind the pillow at his best friend. «I got a date. With someone. He's really handsome. Like, abnormally handsome. And beautiful! He's so good looking I'm still convinced that he's a real fairy and he asked me out like, can you believe it?»

Taken aback from the sudden rambling, Minseok just sat there with his mouth open, progressing what he just had been told.

«Oh, and he is also Chinese, at least I think he is because he talked to me in Chinese. Have I already mentioned that he is really beautiful?» Yixing continued when Minseok didn't do anything to interrupt him. «He's super sweet and caring and like, just super beautiful?»

Minseok finally burst into a fit of giggles, it was just too amusing to watch Yixing ramble like that, fiddling with the hem of his sweater and an excited sparkle in his eyes. «I'm so happy for you! Go get him!» he winked and had to hold back another giggle that blubbered up from his chest.

They continued the movie, both grinning widely. After the movie ended, they lazily stayed on the couch, none of them wanting to get up to throw away the empty pizza box. Eventually, they had to do so, and not long after that, Yixing excused himself and disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for his date.

«Do you think I can go out like this?» Yixing stormed into Minseok's bedroom, where he was reading a book. The latter looked up curiously, examining the outfit his best friend had chosen.

«Oh, damn, you, my dear, look good,» he whistled at the sight nodding to show he approved of his friend's choice. He wore a simple grey-white sweater and black pants, a really simple outfit that gave him a cool boyfriend vibe. Definitely suitable for a date.

«But, can I go out like this?» Yixing asked a second time, looking so adorably lost.

«Just go, or else you'll be late,» Minseok laughed and gestured for him to leave. Sometimes Yixing was a bit helpless and you'd never think that he was really a certified adult. Shooing the nervous ball of fluff out of the apartment, Minseok used the opportunity to go into the kitchen and make himself a smoothie. He himself could make pretty decent smoothies, not as good as the one's Yixing made of course, but he had picked up some tips and tricks over the time they had lived together.

It was about an hour later, and Minseok was incredibly bored. He had finished his book and it didn't seem as if Yixing would come back soon. He decided to spontaneously call Jongdae, to see what his boyfriend was doing. He picked up his phone and scrolled to his contacts until he reached Jongdae's. He smiled a second at what Jongdae had saved his contact for him. He had done that on one of their dates when he had stolen the older's phone and protested at the simple 'Jongdae <3' he was saved as. Now the brunet was saved as 'Minseok's adorable Flower Boy', though Jongdae had been quite tipsy when he did that - he had to be, otherwise, he would have never had the courage to do something bold like this.

It didn't take long for Jongdae to accept the call.

«Hello beautiful boyfriend, how are you?» his cheerful voice sounded through the device and made Minseok chuckle happily.

«Hi there Flower Boy. Miss me already?» he teasingly said, internally squealing because of his boyfriend.

«Well if you put it like this... yes, I did miss you,» Jongdae said. Minseok could practically hear the pout through the phone.

«Do you want to meet up? I'll treat you to a coffee or dinner if you haven't eaten yet,» Minseok suggested, pacing up and down, from the kitchen to the couch and back again. He just couldn't stand still while having a phone call.

«Yeah, sure,» Jongade agreed.

«'Kay, meet me at the coffee shop three blocks from the restaurant I work in?» Minseok asked, smiling from one ear to the other.

«I will! See you there,» Jongdae laughed and hung up. The boy sure was bubbly this evening.

Minseok let out a burst of loud laughter, he was so happy to have Jongdae in his life, he made him feel alive, more than he had ever felt before. He quickly slipped into some sneakers and grabbed a Jacket, you never knew how cold it would get once the sun sunk below the horizon.

About 30 minutes later he was standing in front of the coffee shop, waiting for Jongdae. He knew that his boyfriend would need a bit longer to arrive, since it was closer to Minseok's apartment, adding to the fact that he had practically run all the way there. And so he waited, watching the people walk by and the sun slowly descending.

And he waited.

And waited.

But Jongdae didn't come. He tried to call him twice, but the call wouldn't go through. Minseok was confused, it was not like Jongdae to let him wait like this without any notice.

Just when he wanted to try and call Jongdae again, his phone started to ring. He looked at the caller ID, it was an unknown number. He frowned, usually he wouldn't answer any calls from unknown numbers, but he had a strange feeling about this one. Something just didn't feel right. He answered the call.

«Yes, hello?»

«Hi, is this Minseok?» The caller's voice trembled lightly and he spoke quickly with a sharp breath at the end.

«Uh, yes? Who are you?» Minseok asked, slightly intimidated as why the unknown man knew his name.

«I'm Baekhyun, Jongdae's friend. We're at the hospital right now, he— Can you come?»

Minseok almost dropped his phone. He felt the sudden urge to throw up and his head started to spin.

«Hello? Are you still there?» Baekhyun asked, obvious concern in his voice.

«Yes, I'm here. Which... which hospital?» Minseok replied. everything seemed so unreal now. From the moment Baekhyun mentioned the words 'Jongdae' and 'hospital' Minseok's brain had stopped functioning properly. Later he had no idea how he got to the hospital Baekhyun told him, he only remembered the short male with the flaming red hair running up to him, eyes puffed and slightly red, dragging him to a room with a closed door. He could hear his words, but he didn't understand them. He couldn't put them together and he just stood there, helpless and clueless about what was happening around him. He felt incredibly useless.

Baekhyun was staring at the man in front of him. It wasn't the first time he had met Minseok, but the pastel pink-haired was completely different from how he had seen him before. He looked like a bunny in the headlight, his eyes were wide and he was shaking. Baekhyun tried to explain what had happened, but his words didn't seem to reach the older. In a desperate attempt to bring him back to reality he grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently forth and back.

«Hey! Can you hear me?» he practically screamed at Minseok.

«Y-Yeah,» the other whispered, finally looking Baekhyun properly in the eyes. «What... what happened?» His voice sounded faded, fragile even.

«Jongdae got hit by a car, when he went out to meet you,» Baekhyun explained, trying to sound as calm as possible, even if he was not calm at all.

«What?» Minseok asked. It wasn't that he didn't hear him, or that he didn't understand. He just couldn't progress what Baekhyun had said. His brain had slowed down, everything was stuck in thick fog.

«They said it's not a life or death situation, but apparently his knee got hurt real bad. They are operating him right now, that's why we have to wait here,» Baekhyun continued and gently rubbed circles on Minseok's back in an attempt to calm him down.

Minseok didn't say anything, he was strangely confused, his thoughts were going extremely slow and he felt as vulnerable as a little kid. The only things he could decipher from what Baekhyun said that Jongdae's life was not in danger, but that he couldn't see him right now. He couldn't do anything. He had to wait.

«Will... will he be okay?» Minseok piped up, his voice barely above a whisper. Baekhyun was worried about him, he had never seen someone react like this. Minseok was still shaking and now when Baekhyun looked at him closer, he saw how pale the older was.

«He will, I promise,» he replied with a soothing voice, guiding Minseok to some chairs. He didn't want him to pass out. Minseok was like a puppet, without any life in him. Instinctively Baekhyun felt the urge to protect him and he wrapped his arms around him. Although he didn't know his best friend's boyfriend that much, he knew that something was not okay, and he decided to stay with Minseok as long as he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's shut up and dance is a BOP


	15. I'm Okay

They stayed at the hospital until late in the evening. At some point Chanyeol had arrived as well, bringing blankets and biscuits and hot tea. They made themselves as comfortable as they could on the ground of the hospital floor. Minseok wouldn't talk or move in general. The two were so concerned that they called a nurse, who told them that he was standing under shock which was understandable, considering what had happened. But still, both Chanyeol and Baekhyun had the feeling that there was more to it. For the moment they decided to not leave him alone, wrapping him in blankets and feeding him the biscuits.

After what seemed like hours and hours of waiting, they were finally approached by a doctor. «You are here because of Kim Jongdae, right?» he asked and when they confirmed this he motioned for them to follow him. He led them to a room with a number on it, stopping in front. «He just woke up, there weren't any problems with the surgery. His left leg was broken twelve times, the bones were practically shattered into tiny pieces, the same applies to his foot. He was lucky that his knee is barely affected though, or else it would have made it a lot more complicated. It will take quite some time to heal and it is not certain whether there will be serious long-term damage. It will surely affect his life in the future, but if he's lucky he will be able to walk normally again. Other than that, he has some minor bruises and his right wrist is sprained, but nothing serious. You can go in now.» The man smiled politely and opened the door for them.

The trio trudged into the room or more so did Chanyeol and Baekhyun while dragging Minseok along. «Jongdae!» Baekhyun called out when he saw his best friend. He looked awful. The white bed made his painfully pale face look even paler and he looked overall a lot smaller. But he was smiling as if nothing was wrong as if his leg wasn't trapped in a huge white cast. «Hey guys,» he weakly greeted and lifted his left hand to wave at them.

«Dumb dumb Chen Chen, do you know how much you scared us?» Baekhyun scolded him. He walked up to his best friend and kneeled down next to him. «How are you?» he asked, his eyes trailing to the huge cast that was heightened to stabilize the leg.

«I feel like shit, to be honest,» Jongdae groaned and sniffled. «Could you hand me a tissue? My nose is kinda runny.»

Chanyeol laughed quietly and reached for one in his bag. «Here you go.»

Only then Jongdae spotted Minseok who was still standing in the middle of the room, staring at him wide-eyed. «Hey,» the brunet whispered. «I'm sorry I couldn't make it to our date.»

Minseok didn't answer, but a single tear dropped from the corner of his eyes, soon followed by a second, and then a third.

«Oh Minseok, please don't cry,» Jongdae said with a sad undertone, opening his arms. Minseok flew into his arms like a little child, pressing his face into Jongdae's chest, tears dampening the white bedsheet.

«I was so scared, Jongdae,» he choked out, clutching the fabric tightly. Jongdae hugged his boyfriend carefully and planted a loving kiss on the top of his head. «I thought I'd lose you.»

«Shhhh it's okay, I'm okay,» Jongdae cooed and continued to plant little kisses all over Minseok's hair.

The pink-haired lifted his head to stare at his boyfriend with teary eyes. «No you're not, your leg is seriously hurt! You're in a hospital, you're nowhere near okay,» he exclaimed while trying to hold back more tears that were threatening to fall. Jongdae didn't say anything, but he gave him a tissue and patted his head.

«Listen, I really am okay, considering where I am. You should go home and sleep, okay? You look even shittier than I feel, so please,» Jongdae then pleaded when Minseok had calmed down again. He looked up at Baekhyun. «Can you please take him home? I'll write you down the address.»

«Sure thing. But are you really okay? No offence, but you do look quite damaged,» the red-head answered, arching an eyebrow.

«Don't worry, it could have been way worse,» Jongdae joked and grinned widely to prove his words. His friends weren't completely convinced, but they promised to bring Minseok home safely and visit again the next day.

«Bye boyfriend,» Jongdae said with a smile, giving Minseok one last short kiss on the lips.

Yixing was more than surprised, but also relieved, when he opened the door and was greeted by two strangers and a worn out looking Minseok.

«Hi, I'm Chanyeol and that's Baekhyun, we're friends of Jongdae,» the tall man with the jet black hair introduced them. «He got involved in a car accident, I mean Jongdae, not Minseok,» he tried to explain.

Yixing smiled at them gratefully and invited them inside for a tea. «I kind of want to know what happened,» he said and stepped back from the door. Baekhyun wanted to politely decline the offer, but Chanyeol had already stepped inside and left him without a choice. They led Minseok to his bedroom and dropped the already half-asleep man on his bed, still fully dressed.

«So, now please tell me what happened,» Yixing demanded once they sat around the table in the kitchen, eating the rest of Chanyeol's biscuits. The Chinese male was a lot more worried that he showed, it had been a long time since he had seen Minseok like this and that scared him.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol took turns in explaining what exactly happened to Jongdae and why they brought Minseok home like this. Yixing listened patiently and didn't interrupt them even once. When they finished he just slowly nodded with a serious face. They were all very tired from the events of the day, that and it was getting quite late. And so Chanyeol and Baekhyun soon bid their goodbyes, Yixing thanking them once again for bringing Minseok home.

After they had left Yixing checked one last time on his best friend who seemed asleep in the dark of his room. He sighed sadly and closed the door. He just hoped that he would be okay.

◤◢◣◥◤ ◢◣◆◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Jongdae went back to being his cheerful self much quicker than anyone would have guessed. His friends came to visit him daily and he was always quirky when they came. Luhan brought him some flowers and told him that he had found someone to work in the flower shop temporarily, a cute boy called Kevin who needed the money. Baekhyun was the one who brought him coffee every morning before he headed to work and filled him in about the newest gossip. The hottest news was that he had finally been able to get Kyungsoo to eat dinner with him, and he wouldn't shut up about him. Meanwhile, Chanyeol took over the role of the overcaring bro and brought him food, insisting that the hospital food was nasty and that Jongdae shouldn't even look at that shit.

There was one thing that bothered Jongdae a lot though, and that was Minseok. He hadn't heard anything from his boyfriend since the day the accident had happened. At first, he was only irritated and a bit disappointed, then he got worried about what was going on. Minseok wouldn't answer his texts nor his calls. After four days, Jongdae started to get annoyed about the other's behaviour, if he couldn't visit him he should just tell him that.

It was the hours between the visits of his family and friends when he missed his boyfriend the most. When he was alone, listening to some music, forced to lay down on the bed and not able to do anything, he wished for nothing more than a hug, a gentle kiss, maybe some cuddles. But Minseok had disappeared.

On the fifth day, Jongdae got an unexpected visitor; it was Yixing who shyly knocked on the door.

«Uh, hi?» he awkwardly said. «Can I come in?»

Jongdae smiled and sat up in his bed. He hadn't had any visitor that day apart from Baekhyun who brought him his morning coffee. «Of course! It's nice to see you!»

Yixing seemed relieved to hear that and grabbed a chair to sit down next to Jongdae. «So, uhm, how are you?»

«I'm fine, honestly. I'd just like to move around, laying in bed all day is going to kill me,» Jongdae replied, scrunching his nose and gesturing to his leg. «But other than that it's pretty much okay.»

«I'm glad to hear that,» Yixing grinned and relaxed in his chair. «Someone else is also quite worried about you,» he then added, his expression saddening. Jongdae didn't say anything and suddenly the folds in the bedsheet were very interesting.

«Minseok isn't feeling well since, you know, since the accident,» Yixing started to explain. «Scratch that, I've never seen him that miserable, he's a total mess. In fact, he hasn't left his room even once the last four days.»

«But why?» Jongdae didn't understand. he wasn't that badly hurt, so it had to be something else that affected Minseok this much.

«I heard he told you about his past? What had happened with his family?» Yixing asked, his voice now unbearably serious.

«Uh yes, he did,» Jongdae confirmed reluctantly, trying to understand what that had to do with the current situation.

Yixing nodded slowly. «But he probably didn't tell you what happened after all that.» Yixing hesitated for a moment before he continued. «Minseok fell into a pitch of darkness. He lost sight of where he wanted to go, what he wanted to do. It was a very hard time not only for him but for the ones close to him as well. We all struggled a lot, and it came to the point where he tried to kill himself.» At this point, Yixing made a pause to give Jongdae time to let all that sink in.

«You know, he hates talking about this,» Yixing eventually said, vaguely gesturing around. «I was surprised that he decided to talk to you, you must really mean a lot to him,» he chuckled lightly. «Anyways, after that, he accepted professional help and somehow got back on his feet, he started studying and you know him, he's confident and happy,» the Chinese male smiled. «Or at least he was. That accident, I think he blames himself that you got hurt. And it triggered some kind of a flashback that threw him back into his depression. I'm kinda scared, to be honest, that's why I didn't visit you sooner.» He shot Jongdae an apologetic look. «I didn't want to leave him alone with him being like that.» Yixing suddenly sounded extremely tired and worn out, and Jongdae wondered just how kind of a heart Yixing had. He smiled softly and looked up into the other's eyes.

«Minseok can really be glad to have a friend like you,» he remarked. «Thanks for telling me all of this,» he continued sincerely. «But still, I really do miss Minseok,» he sighed and dropped his head back. «If I just convince the doctor to let me go a few days sooner, then I could maybe pay him a visit at the weekend.» He pouted and then suddenly started to giggle. «It seems as if Minseok is the one in the hospital, not me!»

Yixing joined him with his loud laugh and jokingly hit Jongdae's shoulder. «True, bro. But for real, it would be great if you could come over as soon as possible because I don't think I will be able to make him even leave his room.»

After they had calmed down again they decided to drop the subject and talked about random little things like Chanyeol's food or Baekhyun's crush on his co-worker, which brought them to Yixing's own crush. He had to admit that it was probably even more than just a crush after their date, which Jongdae wanted to know everything about. He was living for Yixing being all shy about this man who apparently was younger than himself and just as much of a dork. When Yixing eventually needed to leave, he promised that he would try to talk to Minseok for a bit. Jongdae, on the other hand, had to give Yixing his word that he would be as persistent as possible while talking to his doctor.

That night Jongdae didn't really know how to feel. He was glad, that it wasn't his fault that Minseok hadn't talked to him, but then again he was seriously concerned for his boyfriend. He wanted to go and see him as soon as possible. The thought of Minseok all alone in his room, possibly crying, made his heart ache in a way he had never experienced before.


	16. Bring back the Light

«You are crazy,» Chanyeol mumbled and shook his head in disbelief while he pushed the wheelchair Jongdae was seated in out of the hospital.

«Thanks, Chanyeol, I know,» Jongdae shrugged with a goofy grin on his face. Technically he wasn't allowed to leave the hospital yet, but he had bribed a nurse with Chanyeol's homemade spring rolls and now they're on their way to visit Minseok. Jongdae is determined to see his boyfriend, if he had to break some rules and disappear from the hospital without the consent of his doctor, then so be it.

«Why am I even friends with you,» Chanyeol whined and gave the wheelchair a harsh push.

«Hey! Don't do that, I'll fall out and on the ground and then I will die for sure!» Jongdae complained but failed to hide the mischievous smirk ghosting over his face. «And you're my friend because I'm totally lovable and you just can't withstand my charms.»

The taller scoffed loudly at that remark but continued to push evenly without any more comments.

Somehow they managed to arrive at Minseok and Yixing's apartment with only minor problems along the way. They knocked at the door and then waited. The situation oddly reminded him of that one time when he came over to bring Minseok a birthday gift - but that time he had been alone and not in a wheelchair.

They didn't have to wait for a long time until the door opened, revealing a tired looking Yixing. As soon as he recognized the two people standing in front of his door his face lit up like the sun and a big smile brightened the room.

«Hi you two! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!» he blurted out and led them inside. «How are you Jongdae? I would have never thought that you were released so soon from the hospital. Don't they need to keep you for, uh, general supervision or something like that?»

«Well,» Jongdae started, scratching the back of his neck, only to be rudely interrupted by Chanyeol.

«He literally broke out of the hospital,» the tall black-haired exclaimed with an angry pout. «And he forced me to help!»

«You what?!» Yixing screeched and threw his hands in the air, eyes almost popping out of his head. «You can't do that, you know that?»

«But I did?» Jongdae smugly replied and wiggled with his eyebrows.

«I liked the shy and cute Jongdae more,» Yixing grumbled while Chanyeol could only roar with laughter.

«Jongdae? Shy and cute? Yeah, when Minseok's around, but only then!»

A bright blush coloured Jongdae's cheeks and he turned his wheelchair forcefully around. «I'll go and look after my boyfriend since you two so-called friends are only mocking me,» he announced. «I'm a disabled man at the moment, would you cut me some slack please?»

The two let him roll away, still giggling behind his back, but still with somewhat silent concern for their friend. Meanwhile, Jongdae had arrived in front of the closed door to Minseok's room. He took a deep breath and knocked gently on the wood.

«Minseok?» he called out nervously, not knowing how the other would react. He didn't get a response, so he tried again, but got once again nothing but silence as a reply. He became a bit bolder as thoughts of worry and anxiety rolled over him and he opened the door. Carefully he peeked into the shadowy room. The curtains were drawn and only let a limited amount of daylight through. On the bed, he could distinguish the shape of a body curled up inside the heavy covers. He wasn't sure if Minseok was awake, so he entered the room as quiet as possible, rolling closer to the bed. Now that he was right next to the lumped body it was obvious that Minseok was fast asleep. The pile of covers was moving up and down to a slow rhythm and a small smile lifted the corner of Jongdae's mouth. He dared to move the covers so he could have a better look at his boyfriends face. Despite the bad lighting, he could clearly see how worn out the poor man looked. His cheekbones were standing out too much and there were deep shadows under his eyes. The salt of dried tears had left their traces all over his face and created an ugly pattern across the skin. When Jongdae reached out to brush a strand of his faded pink hair out of the sleeping man's eyes he noticed how greasy and gross it felt and his heart shatter into thousand pieces. He wanted to cry and scream because it hurt so much to see his flirty and confident boyfriend like this, broken and sick. He continued to dread his fingers through Minseok's hair, over his forehead and down his temples. He traced the salty lines that lead from the corner of his closed eyes down the sunken cheeks, over his chin, and then lost themselves in the damp pillow.

He didn't know how long he just stayed there with his fingers wandering over Minseok's face when the older's lashes suddenly fluttered and his breath became uneven. Jongdae retracted his hand and watched his boyfriend waking up. Minseok looked very confused and lost, but at the same time, his eyes were empty and extremely sad. He didn't look like Minseok at all. Eventually, he noticed Jongdae sitting in front of him.

«Jong... Jongdae?» he whispered, his voice hoarse as if he hadn't talked for days, what was probably the case.

«Hi Minseok,» Jongdae whispered back, smiling sadly.

«Are you really here?» Minseok asked, still whispering and he sounded so brokenly desperate as if he was scared that the image of Jongdae was merely an illusion.

«I am here,» Jongdae replied, reaching out with both arms, tears in his eyes.

It didn't take Minseok even a second to move forward and launching himself into Jongdae's arms, sobbing and drowning in the hug he received. They hugged and cried together for maybe thirty minutes, though it could also have been more or less, neither of them could tell. When they reluctantly let go of each other it was more because Jongdae's leg hurt and he pushed Minseok back onto the bed. Minseok seemed confused at first, and he seemed to notice the wheelchair only just now.

«Did I hurt you?» he asked with a weak voice that sounded as if it could break oh so easily.

«It's okay,» Jongdae assured him and grabbed both of Minseok's hand. «Do you... can you... are you able to talk about it?» he then asked, examining Minseok's face carefully.

Minseok immediately became quiet and lowered his gaze.

«You don't have to!» Jongdae quickly added. «It's just... I want you to be happy again. I want to see your smile again. And I promise I will bring it back.» The last part he could only whisper, as his voice gave up.

Minseok slowly lifted his head, staring at Jongdae with big eyes, tears glistening in them again. «What?» he asked silently.

«I will bring the old you back.» Jongdae straightened his back and gripped the wheels of the wheelchair tightly. Then he started to roll back ever so slowly. «I will make you laugh from the bottom of your heart again. I will bring the happy, laughing Minseok back, I promise. I will bring back the Minseok that makes my heart rate go up with his flirty comments, I will bring back the you that loves himself.» He had arrived at the doorstep and stopped, feeling for the door handle and clumsily opened the door. He looked back at Minseok, the light from outside falling directly on him. He reached out again for his boyfriend, and with pleading eyes, he asked him to come. «Please let me bring you back, please!»

Later on, Mionseok couldn't remember what exactly had happened. He remembered that Jongdae had asked him to leave his bed, his fortress, his shelter, behind and step out into the light that he had brought back into the dullness of his room. He vaguely saw himself in the shower, then coming out again and then he was back in his room. But it was full of light now, the windows were open, the curtains no longer blocking the sun. And Jongdae, the brightest light in the middle of his room, waiting for him, smiling at him, hugging him, kissing him.

The sun had disappeared and it was getting darker, and the two were still huddled up on Minseok's bed, Jongdae's leg lay on a pile of covers to lift it up. Minseok was lying on top of his boyfriend, his head resting against Jongdae's chest. Jongdae had one arm drawn around Minseok's torso and with his other hand, he brushed through his hair, tugging on it slightly from time to time and drawing circles on the skin of his head.

«Hey Minseok,» he suddenly spoke up. «I want you to know that I will be always here for you, okay? I promise not to leave you alone. Whatever happens, we will go through it together.» He spoke sternly, with a calm voice.

«Thanks,» Minseok smiled, but it sounded as if he was at the edge of crying again. He wanted to say more, he wanted to say how much he meant it, how important these words were to him. He wanted to say how much he loved Jongdae, but he couldn't bring out another word. So he squeezed his arm gently and turned around in the other's embrace. He crawled up until he was face to face with Jongdae. There were tears streaming down his face again, but Minseok didn't care about them anymore. Jongdae had seen him crying too much anyways.

He pressed a sweet kiss on his boyfriend's lips, only a short one, and then looked at him lovingly. The second kiss was longer, fuller and overflowing with passion. The third kiss escalated into a brief make-out session, and the fourth kiss was a shy peck. The fifth and last kiss was a series of loving pecks initiated by Jongdae. He nibbled gently on Minseok's lower lip, kissed over the corners of his mouth without ever really separating his lips from Minseok's face.

Long after Chanyeol had returned Jongdae to the hospital Minseok was lying awake in his bed. He couldn't sleep, but he also didn't really want to. He had slept enough for a month the last few days, and so he just stayed still in his bed, thinking about Jongdae. He tried hard to not let any bad thoughts get to him, but they were there, always present, nagging, planting darkness in his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to think about anything, it didn't matter what, just not something that would feed the evil thoughts creeping around inside his head. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight them off alone. It wasn't the first time he suffered under their torture, but this time he knew how to repel them. This time Jongdae was here. When he was there, the darkness was fading and the light returned into his life. It was Jongdae who pulled him out of his room and who drew the curtains back to let the sun shine inside again.


	17. Healing

It was hard for both of them. Minseok wasn't comfortable at all coming to the hospital but Jongdae was under strict supervision, and he had no choice when he wanted to visit his boyfriend. Of course, it had consequences sneaking out of the hospital, and for Jongdae that meant being watched over constantly.

When Minseok visited him, usually accompanied by Yixing, they mostly only cuddled, enjoying each other's warmth. They hadn't really talked about what was going on. They had a silent agreement that they would take it slow, not pushing anything and with as less pressure on both of them as possible. They solely focused on healing what was broken and strengthening the trust they had in each other. They both slowly recovered from what had happened, and then finally Jongdae was discharged from the hospital and could go home. He had some trouble walking with the crutches at first, but soon he was standing in the flower shop again, selling flowers to customers and trying to find back into his daily routine.

They had decided that they would still try to execute their plan of Jongdae moving in with Yixing and Minseok. And so they spent a whole Saturday on moving furniture, re-furnish the rooms and bringing every good that Jongdae possessed over. They had called their friends over, and so there were many people walking in and out of their apartment. They shared a fun lunch with everyone, getting to know each other better. Luhan and Jinki, who both, of course, had to come to support, were getting along immediately and talked a lot, each finding a new friend in the other. It was an exceptionally fun day everyone enjoyed. Deep inside everyone was glad to see Minseok and Jongdae being happy again, and they did everything to make sure that, on this day at least, there would be nothing that had any negative influence on their good mood.

It was already evening when the last person left, that being Luhan, and the apartment was turning silent again. Now it was only Yixing, Minseok and Jongdae left, the couple cuddling on the couch that had moved from the centre of the living room to directly beneath the window. Yixing had disappeared into his room, but neither Jongdae nor Minseok really minded.

Suddenly Yixing stuck his head into the living room, eyeing the two with a guilty look. «Uh, Guys? Ehrrr... how do I say this...» He stuttered and desperately searched for the right words.

«Just say it, we won't eat you,» Jongdae giggled, already having a clue what Yixing was up to.

«Would it be okay to leave you two alone here? Because I kind of have a date?» They could still only see his head, but it was evident that he had dressed up.

Minseok couldn't hold in his laughter anymore and almost fell off the couch if it wasn't for Jongdae pulling him closer. «Sure Yixing, don't worry, we're fine on our own,» Jongdae smirked and threw the Chinese a meaningful look. «Just use protection!» For some reason, this threw Minseok in a new laughing fit which sent his body flying on Jongdae's lap.

Yixing just scoffed and finally stepped out, making Jongdae whistle admiringly. His look even managed to silence Minseok who stared at his best friend with an open mouth. Yixing wore black leather pants so tight they should be classified as illegal and a neat white button-down with the first few buttons undone. He had even put some makeup on that was visible now that he had stepped closer.

«Oh daddy,» Jongdae whispered under his breath, which made Minseok look at him in disgust.

«Please never say that again,» he said and wriggled his way out of his lap.

«Oh, so you're the only one who I can call daddy?» Jongdae teasingly asked and smirked while biting his bottom lip.

«Oh my god, no! I'll beat you up if you do that!» Minseok screamed and slid away from his boyfriend.

Jongdae just smirked wider. «Uuh, kinky.»

«I swear to god, stop that,» Minseok threatened and picked up a pillow to throw it at the now cackling Jongdae. He then turned to Yixing who chuckled at the sight of the two. «But seriously, I don't think I've ever seen you like this. On how many dates have you been with him? Four? Five? Just ask him out already!»

Yixing smiled shyly and folded his hands behind his back while whipping back and forth. He acted like a shy schoolboy which was a drastic contrast to how he looked. «Well, I do plan on doing so,» he admitted nervously.

«Really? But then you have to introduce us to that mystery boy,» Jongdae piped up, only to be shoved down with another pillow by Minseok.

«I will, I promise,» Yixing said, holding up his pinky. Just then they heard the doorbell ring, and his face lit up in an instance. «That's him, bye, have a nice evening!» he shouted as he rushed to the door. The couple could barely yell a «You too!» back, and he had already disappeared, slamming the door as he exited.

Silence returned into the room. Minseok smiled fondly and dropped his body to lie down on the couch. «It's amazing how fast you can forget all the sad things in the world,» he suddenly remarked. «And at the same time it takes absolutely nothing and you are so sad that you want to cry for days.»

Jongdae didn't know what he should answer. He couldn't see his boyfriend's face, but the mood had dropped and the whole room seemed cooler. He scooted over and took Minseok in his arms. It was very cramped on the small couch, and not very comfortable, but they were as close as they could possibly be and none of them wanted to move from that position.

«I'm sorry, I got all depressive,» Minseok whispered, sighing deeply.

Jongdae just pressed a kiss on his shoulder. «It's okay, Sometimes you need that,» he smiles and continues to press little kisses on Minseok's shoulder and neck. Although the brunet couldn't see it Minseok smiled brightly at these words that made him feel a lot better.

Minseok then turned around but miscalculated the space left on the couch. He shrieked and before Jongdae knew what was happening they were both lying on the floor, limbs tangled and hearts beating fast from the shock. They stared at each other wide-eyed for a few seconds until they had calmed down again, then Minseok started talking again.

«I'm sorry, is your leg okay?» he whispered, pulling Jongdae closer. «I just wanted to say thank you,» he added without missing a heartbeat.

«Yes it is, don't worry. What did you want me to thank for?» Jongdae whispered back, not wanting to destroy the quiet moment.

«Just for being you. You're a wonderful human being Kim Jongdae, and I'm so privileged to be allowed to be your boyfriend. Thanks for being my light in the darkness.» Minseok hid his face in his boyfriend's chest, he knew how cheesy he sounded.

Jongdae just quietly laughed, but at the same time, his heart swelled from all the feelings that confession brought out. «I love you Minseok,» he whispered into the pastel pink hair that needed to be redyed. He felt Minseok's breath hitch for a moment, then the body in his arms shifted until he felt his boyfriend's lips on his.

«I love you too,» Minseok mumbled into the kiss, one hand wandering up into Jongdae's hair. He loved to touch his hair, to run his fingers through it, to tug lightly on it when they kissed.

«We probably should get off the floor,» Jongdae murmured against his boyfriend's lips but made no effort to pull away.

«Yeah, we probably should,» Minseok agreed and lazily pecked Jongdae's lips one last time before he heaved himself up, half of Jongdae still on top of him. He sat back onto the couch, pulling the younger up with him. What he didn't expect though, was Jongdae sitting on his lap, face to face and practically straddling him. The younger leaned down and captured his surprised boyfriend's lips in yet another kiss. Minseok smiled at his boldness and responded to Jongdae's actions, bringing their bodies closer. He could feel the heat radiating from the younger's body and tilted his head to deepen their kiss, his hands finding their way once again to the back of Jongdae's head where they gripped strands of his beautiful brown hair and pulled softly.

Jongdae hummed approvingly and started trailing kisses from the corner of Minseok's mouth up his jawline to his earlobe and back. By now the brunet's hands were on Minseok's hips, tightly gripping the plaid shirt he wore. His kisses became more daring and soon he started leaving open-mouthed kisses all the way down his boyfriend's neck, sucking and biting down carefully on certain spots. He felt Minseok melt under his touch and smiled in content when he heard a soft moan escape his lips. Jongdae's hands slowly released the shirt, only to lift it up slightly and slip his hands underneath it, caressing the warm and smooth skin of Minseok's stomach. He could feel the hard muscles under the skin and the movement of his chest with every breath he took.

«Jongdae,» Minseok breathed and brought his boyfriend's face up to kiss him again. They were lost in each other's touches, pressing their chests closer to leave no space in between them.

Jongdae's hand sneaked down to the waistband of Minseok's jeans, and just when he had slid the tips of his fingers inside, Minseok stopped him.

«Not here,» he mumbled in between two kisses. «Yixing would kill us if we did it on the couch.» He had a point. Without wasting any time Minseok lifted Jongdae up as if he weighed nothing, being careful not to hurt his leg in any way, and carried him to their shared bedroom. Jongdae protested, knowing that Minseok was playing tougher than he was, but he met deaf ears. They somehow managed to arrive at his bed without dropping his boyfriend on the floor and Jongdae was placed on the soft sheets.

«It's a shame they're going to be dirtied, we just changed them this afternoon,» the younger suddenly remarked, a playful smirk on his face.

«Well it's technically your fault, you initiated this whole thing,» Minseok chuckled and crawled over to Jongdae.

«Don't act as if you're not enjoying this,» the brunet pouted and shifted around to find a more comfortable position.

«I would never,» Minseok cooed, now hovering over Jongdae. «But someone has to take the blame.» He didn't give his boyfriend a chance to answer, shutting him up in a passionate kiss. «We will have to be careful though,» he suddenly remarked, barely separating their lips. «I don't want to do any damage to your leg.»

Jongdae nodded absentmindedly and stole a kiss from his boyfriend's lips. «So, vanilla today?»

«I guess so, yes. Or we'd just have to experiment a bit,» Minseok replied and smirked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

«You know, we don't have to get up tomorrow,» Jongdae innocently remarked and traced Minseok's sharp jawline with his index finger. Minseok just laughed silently and lowered his body, kissing the younger once again.

Their clothes were soon discarded on the floor and moans of pleasure filled the room as they loved each other through the night. The huge cast on Jongdae's leg lead to some awkward moments, but they wouldn't let that stop them. They both felt alive like they hadn't felt in a long time, and it was long past midnight when they fell asleep, huddled up in fresh bedsheets and with the feeling of warmth and love in their chests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry that it took so long to upload this, there's a lot going on in my personal life 
> 
> Also, I'm really not content with this chapter, I'm sorry if it turned out bad


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